Gaelige Briongloid
by Mana6
Summary: A dream is a wish your heart makes...or is it? UPDATED 8/09!! Please Review!! :) *Completed*
1. Default Chapter

TITLE: Gaelige Briongloid   
  
AUTHOR: Mana   
  
E-MAIL ADDRESS: celine1013@hotmail.com  
  
DISTRIBUTION: Anywhere Just keep my name and let me know so I can visit....  
  
SPOILER WARNING: No spoilers so far, but a knowledge of the series is useful  
  
RATING: PG-13 (nothing too bad)  
  
CLASSIFICATION: X, MSR  
  
SUMMARY: A dream is a wish your heart makes....or is it?  
  
DISCLAIMER: Mulder, Scully and The X-Files are not mine. If they were, I'd be rich, but alas I am not. Also, anything else you recognize in here is not mine....Please don't sue.   
  
AUTHORS NOTES: This story takes place today but for the purpose of this story, season 8 and 9 have not happened. Mulder and Scully are just doing what they used to do in this. Also, there is no baby or pregnancy....as a matter of fact, Mulder and Scully haven't gotten together....yet. Hee hee  
  
Prologue  
  
Her green eyes focused on the children playing on the basketball court in front of her. She looked at the children's faces finally coming to rest on a little girl running around trying to take the ball from her opponents. She smiled a sad smile as she took in the young girls curly red hair and sparkling green eyes. They reminded her of a time that used to be, the person that she used to be.  
  
A tear formed in her right eye as she watched the girl run and laugh. She wished that she was still so carefree. She wished that the things that haunted her had never come to pass. She wished she was normal.   
  
Seaside Christian School  
  
February 26  
  
10:45 am  
  
"Mollie! What are you doing out here? I've been looking all over campus for you!"  
  
Mollie looked up from where she had been sitting near the basketball court and locked eyes with her best friend, Leila Hagan.   
  
Mollie wiped the tear tracks from her face and looked back at the children.  
  
"What are you doing out here? We were supposed to study together last period. Mollie...have you been crying?" Leila sat down next to her on the picnic bench and dropped her backpack into the dead leaves on the ground.  
  
Mollie looked down at the drab navy blue uniform skirt and began to smooth out an imaginary wrinkle.  
  
"Are you O.K. Mollie?" Leila put her hand on Mollie's shoulder. "Are you having those dreams again?"  
  
Mollie could hear the worry in Leila's voice and looked up into her eyes, a fake smile plastered to her face. How could she tell her that the dreams had never stopped but now they were even worse, and worse yet, Tommy was in them.  
  
"I'm fine. Don't worry about it. I can handle it." She said her first words of the day with a slight Irish lilt to her voice.   
  
"Don't give me that shi...crap!" Leila stopped talking and turned away as a teacher walked over to them. Mollie could tell   
  
Leila was blushing over the prospect of almost cursing in front of the teacher.   
  
"Girls, don't you have someplace to be? Like, maybe, class?" The teacher rudely smirked.  
  
"Yes Ms. Rose. We are so sorry and we'll be going right now." Leila grabbed her bag and yanked Mollie off the bench. She ran up the stairs leading to the front of the school and darted inside, pulling Mollie in with her.   
  
"Ugh, I hate that woman!" Leila sighed. "Girls, do you have somewhere to be?" She imitated the teacher and Mollie smiled.   
  
"Oh my God! Did Mollie O'Brien just smile?" Leila teased. "I haven't seen that in forever!"   
  
A short bark of laughter erupted out of Mollie as they made their way to their next class, Anatomy, Mollie's favorite.   
  
"Stop Mollie, you're going to give me a heart attack if you keep acting happy!" Leila said in response to Mollie's laugh.   
  
They stepped inside the classroom just as the tardy bell rang.   
  
2 weeks later  
  
FBI Hoover Building.  
  
Basement Office  
  
The dark room was suddenly brightened as the picture of a bloodied body of a young male flashed onto the screen.  
  
"Oh my God." Scully sighed as she took in the horrific sight on the screen. "Who is he?"  
  
"His name is Thomas Kilpatrick, a 22 year old male that lived in Jacksonville, Florida. His body was found two days ago in the wooded area behind his house. No one had even known he was missing until a friend of his, Mollie O'Brien stumbled upon his body."  
  
The screen flashed again this time revealing a picture of a young woman, no more than 18 years old. She was quite beautiful in Scully's eyes. Long curly red hair, not so much the color of her own but a dark rich red. She had pale skin sprinkled lightly with freckles, but it was her eyes that really caught Scully's attention. They were a deep green but had no sparkle to them whatsoever. They looked troubled, haunted. The smile that was on the girls lips didn't reach her eyes.   
  
"She looks so sad." Scully whispered, unsure if Mulder had heard her or not. Apparently he had because he started speaking as Scully looked at the picture.   
  
"Yes, she has every right to be. She's been through a hell of a lot for someone so young. Her parents moved here 20 years ago and settled in Jacksonville, Florida. Mollie was born 2 years later. When Mollie was 10 she and her mother and some friends went on a boating vacation. Her mother and four others were killed when a storm suddenly hit where they were. Mollie was the only one to survive. Apparently she kind of just drifted around for a day or two in the Atlantic until coast guard picked her up." Mulder took a breath before he went on. "Then when she was 15 a whole lot started happening. Her Aunt B.B, Uncle Henry, Uncle Phil, and Uncle Edward all died within three months. Mollie was close to all of them as well. It seemed like everything had stopped but just this January her grandfather, Andrew O'Brien, was killed in a freak snow storm in South Georgia while he was driving home. Now Thomas has been killed." Mulder finished and handed the file to Scully who opened it and started reading.  
  
"So you think what? Aliens?" She smiled to herself.  
  
"No, I don't think that at all." He responded and flicked the slide projector off momentarily plunging the office into darkness. He flipped on the light and looked over at Scully. She raised her eyebrow at him signaling for him to explain what he thought. When he didn't say anything she asked what was on her mind.  
  
"So you think Mollie is killing these people?"   
  
"Well, she is always around right before or after they die, but again no, I don't think that either." He shrugged.  
  
"Then what do you think, Mulder?" She sighed.   
  
He could tell she was exasperated but he wasn't exactly sure what to think. He wasn't going to let her know that though otherwise she probably wouldn't go with him to Florida. He lifted a finger and pointed it at her.  
  
"That's for me to know and you to find out."  
  
Scully let out a heavy breath. "So I guess we're off to Jacksonville then, huh?"  
  
He just smiled, grabbed their coats and headed out the door leaving her standing in the middle of the office.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
The moonlight bounces off the ocean surrounding the cliff where she stands. She feels so calm, so very tranquil. She looks around at her surroundings. The moon casts an eerie glow on the grass below her bare feet making it seem unearthly. She spies something gleaming on the ground near her foot and bends to pick it up. It is a very simple, yet elegant gold cross necklace.   
  
She furrows her brows at it. She has never seen it before, yet she feels a strange connection to it. It is just a normal cross, but somehow it is special, she can feel that much. She closes her hand around it and shuts her eyes. Suddenly a hand touches her shoulder. She gasps and turns around quickly, dropping the necklace. A sob catches in her throat as she recognizes the all to familiar face of the person that had just touched her shoulder.  
  
"Tommy!" She cries as she flings her arms around his neck and buries her face in his shoulder. She breathes in the scent of him, savoring it. God, how she has missed him. Realizing that he hasn't said anything yet, she turns her face up to meet his gray eyes. The wind ruffles his blonde hair and she pushes it away from his face. His eyes burn into hers and he quickly captures her lips with his. She gasps in surprise and straightens, but soon she relaxes and meets his kiss with the same explosive passion. They part and their labored breathing is the only sound she can hear. He touches her cheek with his hand and runs his thumb over her bottom lip.   
  
"Mollie." He breathes.   
  
Whatever he had been about to say is interrupted by a scream as his body melts before her eyes. It takes her only a moment to realize the scream is coming from herself. She watches in horror as his beautiful features are suddenly burning and melting away. His eyes look at her in confusion, as if asking her why she is screaming. He opens his mouth to say something but no words come. Her eyes widen as he begins to transform from the scary abomination into a woman, a woman with fiery red hair that flows down her back. The wind picks up and she is suddenly caught in a turbulent whirlwind. The woman stares at her unwaveringly, her eyes gleaming with hatred. Mollie looks down as the ground beneath her begins to crack and break away revealing a fiery pit below. She feels the flames lick at her legs through the thin material of her dress, the blue trim turning black with soot. The heat is unbearable. She can't breath, talk or scream, all she can do is feel, feel the heat and pain. She looks up at the woman that had previously been Tommy. The woman is still staring at her, but now she begins to laugh. A terrifying laugh that is only reserved for the insane. The ground gives way underneath Mollie and she begins falling. Falling through the broken ground and into the fire, never noticing the gleam of a gold cross that seems to be reaching out to her.  
  
1131 Elmhurst Road   
  
March 12   
  
1:52 am.   
  
Mollie awoke with a start, gasping and shaking. She wiped away the sweat that was freely running down her forehead. She ripped the blanket and comforter off her body and swung her legs over the side of the bed sitting up. She consciously slowed her breathing as she got up and quietly left the room. She made her way towards the bathroom, silently looking in her father's room making sure he was still asleep.  
  
He was so she ran to the bathroom and closed the door, not making a sound. Once she was secluded in the bathroom, she allowed the sobs to overcome her. The tear streamed down her face and she slid to the floor. She pulled her knees up close to her chest and buried her face in her arms that she had rested on her knees. She wouldn't be getting anymore sleep tonight she thought as the first wave of nausea sneaked up on her.  
  
Delta Flight 324  
  
March 12   
  
6:25 PM   
  
Scully sighed as she pulled the small blanket over her arms. Why did they always have to keep these stupid planes so cold anyway? As if in answer to her question Mulder turned the air vent off of her and onto him. She looked at him and he smiled gently at her and pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders.   
  
"You look miserable, Scully." He remarked   
  
"Your powers of observation continue to astound me." She mumbled and looked at the stewardess heading towards them with a huge drink cart. If she got hit with that cart, she wasn't going to be responsible for any of her actions that followed.   
  
"Scully, I am never wrong." He grinned a huge Cheshire grin and she rolled her eyes.  
  
"Oh really? Then why did we just spend 4 hours at the airport when you said that they could have us on a plane at 2 this afternoon?" She looked at her watch. "It's 6:30 now, Mulder, not 2:00."  
  
"Well, how was I supposed to know that the plane that we were supposed to be on was stuck in Atlanta because of bad weather? If that hadn't happened I would have been right. I can't control the weather like Hollman Hart did." He pointed out.   
  
At the sound of that name Scully thought back to the case, and the cow that had forced Mulder to spend the night in her motel room, in the same bed as her. She shivered, but this time not from the cold.   
  
"Would either of you like anything to drink?" The all-too-polite flight attendant asked, eyeing Mulder.   
  
"Ummm...Sure. A Coca-Cola would be nice." Mulder replied looking at the blonde and smiling.   
  
"No problem." The woman smiled flirtatiously and pulled out a can of soda and a cup of ice. "And for you, Miss."   
  
"Water." Scully glared at her and took the water she held out as she continued looking at Mulder through her eyelashes.   
  
"I hope you have a good flight. If you need anything just press the button. I'll be sure to be the one to help you." The woman smiled and walked passed adding extra swing to her hips.   
  
"Oh goodie." Scully muttered under her breath.   
  
"Did you say something?" Mulder poked her arm.   
  
"No nothing." Scully said and took a swig of water. Why hadn't she asked for alcohol? This was going to be a long flight.   
  
8:30 pm  
  
And a long flight it had been. After being hit by the drink cart the second time Miss Flirtatious came by, Scully had fallen asleep. When she awoke, she was curled into a tight ball, her head resting on Mulder's shoulder. Luckily he was asleep as well so she saved herself the embarrasment of having to apologize. Of course, he probably wouldn't have minded but better safe than sorry.  
  
Now they were headed towards downtown Jacksonville in their newly rented Ford Taurus. Why was it they always got Taurus' anyway?   
  
"Scully, do you have any idea where I'm supposed to go from here? These damn one way roads are getting on my nerves."   
  
Scully looked down at the road map she had purchased at the airport and told Mulder where to go. They were staying somewhere near the F.B.I headquarters, but Mulder wouldn't tell her the name of the place. Probably some hole in the wall roach motel. Imagine Scully's surprise as Mulder pulled into the parking lot next to a huge hotel. The Omni?  
  
"Mulder what are we doing here?" Scully asked looking up at the building.  
  
"Well, its right next door to the headquarters so I thought, why not. I mean, we aren't paying for it anyway." He smiled and undid his seatbelt. "I'll go check in if you park the car somewhere."  
  
"Ok." Scully nodded and scooted over into the drivers seat as Mulder exited the car.  
  
She found a space near the front door and pulled into it. She popped the trunk and went ahead and picked up both her and Mulder's duffle bags. As she entered the lobby she was struck at how beautiful the hotel really was. It had been a while since she had been in a fancy hotel that she had almost forgotten how nice they really were. A young man in a bellboy uniform walked over to her pulling a luggage cart.   
  
"Would you like me to take your bags, ma'am?" He asked smiling.   
  
"Sure." Scully handed the bags to the boy and walked towards the front desk, the boy following.   
  
She spotted Mulder walking towards her. He held up two card keys and smiled. She grinned back as he stopped in front of her.   
  
"Rooms 312 and 314. Connecting doors, cable tv with HBO and they have the little coffee pots in them." He handed her a key and guided her towards the elevators. When they reached their rooms they took their bags from the boy and Mulder gave him a tip. The boy smiled at them and winked at Scully and took off down the hall. Scully opened her door and entered her room. She sighed as she dropped her bag in the small closet to her left and walked over to the queen size bed and fell down on it. It was so soft. God, she could just fall asleep now and not wake up for a week. It was so quiet and peaceful and...  
  
The connecting door slammed open and Mulder walked in, kicking off his shoes by the door. He jumped on the bed next to Scully and grabbed the remote to the t.v.  
  
"Hey Scully, did you know that this place has an indoor heated pool? Hope you brought your bathing suit. Actually I hope its a bikini, wait no actually I hope you forgot it, that way you have to swim nude." He grinned down at her.  
  
"Mulder what are you doing in my room?"  
  
"I was bored. Thought you could use some company. Ooo...look a documentary on Atlantis." He stared at the television. He obviously wouldn't be leaving for a while.   
  
She sighed. "I'm going to go take my shower." She said and rolled off the bed.   
  
"O.K...I'll just be here." He said, never taking his eyes off the t.v.   
  
Seaside Christian School  
  
March 13   
  
8:25   
  
Leila popped her chewing gun and looked over at the empty desk next to her.   
  
"Miss Hagan, get rid of that gum."   
  
Leila looked up at the teacher and rolled her eyes. She got out of her desk and walked over to the trash can. She stuck a finger in her mouth and pulled out half of her gum and threw it in the trash can leaving the other half in her mouth for safe keeping. As she made her way back to her desk she looked up at the clock. 8:29. Mollie had exactly one minute to get to class. She hoped she was OK and made a mental list of reasons why Mollie wasn't at school yet. Mollie was never late to school, she loved it too much. She wasn't sick, she had talked to her the night before. Her dad wasn't having another spell because she had seen him driving that morning. There was only one reason why she would be late...the dreams were back.  
  
8:45  
  
Mollie turned off her car and turned around in her seat to get her bag out of the back seat. She sighed and took out her compact examining the dark circles under both her eyes. She dabbed another layer of concealer on the dark spots, sighing as it didn't help much more. Leila would see right through the facade she was planning on putting up and she hoped she wouldn't pressure her to talk about it. She really didn't think she could handle that right now. The image of Tommy looking at her, his eyes darkened with passion, flitted into her mind and tears welled up in her eyes.   
  
"No!" She yelled. She wouldn't cry anymore. She had to be strong. She couldn't let anyone know what she was feeling. She swallowed the lump in her throat and opened the car door. She made her way up the stairs and showed her ID to the guard at the door. Finally she was at school, her safe place. The place where the dreams didn't haunt her because she was too busy thinking of other things. As she neared her classroom, she heard one of the students saying prayer.   
  
They were already done with prayer requests? Was she really that late?  
  
She listened to the girl saying all the requests to God. "...and for Mike to get a car and for Aaron and his girlfriend troubles and for Mollie and all her problems."   
  
She heard a few people snicker at that and glared at them. She didn't have problems!   
  
"Oh who are you kidding? You should be in a damn insane asylum." She thought bitterly.   
  
When she heard the girl finish the prayer and the teacher say "Thank-you Anne.", Mollie walked into the room. She quietly took her seat next to Leila, who was looking at her, as were a few other students.  
  
"Why are you late, Mollie?" Ms. Julian asked.   
  
"I, uh, overslept." She lied and got out her Bible and text book. She had actually had very little sleep.   
  
"You're tardy unexcused then. If you get one more, you're going to have a detention, understand?"  
  
"Yes Ma'am." Mollie said never looking at the teacher, never taking her eyes off her desk.   
  
"OK then, everyone open up your books to page 164 and do the questions. I don't want to hear any talking." The teacher said as she sat down at her desk in the back of the classroom.   
  
Mollie turned to the page and picked up her pencil. She was in the middle of answering the second question when a ball of paper landed in her lap. She picked it up and looked back at the teacher to make sure she wasn't watching before she opened it. There in Leila's handwriting was one question.   
  
"Are they back?"   
  
Mollie crumbled the paper and stuffed it in her bag before going back to her work. She wasn't going to answer Leila right now. Hopefully, Leila would just forget about it. Yea right.   
  
Continued in Chapter 2 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Seaside Christian School  
  
March 13  
  
10:45 am  
  
The blue rental car pulled up to the school. Mulder pulled into a parking spot labeled "Visitors Only" and parked the car. He looked over at Scully who was "resting her eyes" and touched her cheek. She jerked and opened her eyes. Mulder shot her a small smile.  
  
"So much for just resting your eyes, huh, Scully?"  
  
"Shut-up Mulder. I wouldn't be so tired, you know, if you hadn't insisted on me doing the autopsy on Thomas Kilpatrick this morning. I haven't even eaten yet. I'm tired, I'm hungry and I'm cranky." She shot him a glare as best as she could noticing that he was still smiling.   
  
"Well maybe I can remedy something." He leered.  
  
"Oh really, and what is that?" She asked looking him in the eyes.  
  
Mulder reached behind him into the back seat and pulled a white paper bag into the front seat.   
  
"While I was on my way to pick you up at the morgue, I got you something. Go ahead, open it." He handed her the bag.  
  
She opened it and pulled out a Styrofoam box. As she opened it, she could smell a wonderful smell and her stomach grumbled in response.  
  
Inside the box was a croissant with cheese and ham in the middle.  
  
"Oh...oh yea this is good." She moaned a little as she took her first bite and Mulder's smile widened.  
  
"Well now you'll just be tired and cranky. Hurry up, we have to go meet with the principal."   
  
"Shut up, Mulder, I'm enjoying my breakfast." She smiled and finished off the croissant with a huge bite. She took a napkin out of the bag and wiped her mouth.   
  
"O.K., I'm ready. Lets go." She said. She could already feel her crankiness waning.   
  
They both got out of the car and walked up the stairs to the school. Scully took notice of the large windows and vine covered walls. It didn't look any different from any other school on the outside. In fact the campus was very beautiful.   
  
"Nice campus, huh?" Mulder remarked and Scully was once again astounded at how he seemed to think the same thing she did. A smile formed on her lips as she thought this. Wouldn't Mulder think it was spooky.   
  
As they walked inside the door a large black man walked up to them. He was dressed in blue slacks and a white shirt with a badge hanging from the front pocket.   
  
"How may I help you?" He asked and smiled down at Scully and tipped his head in a friendly gesture. Ah, the good 'ole Southern charm. Scully could see this foreboding looking man was very nice but she could bet that he could be mean if need be.  
  
"Yes, hi. We're agents Scully and Mulder from the FBI. We'd like to speak with the principal please." They flashed their badges at the an ad noticed his smile fade a bit.   
  
"FBI? What are ya'll here for? None of my kids did anything wrong did they?" He asked.  
  
"Your kids?" Scully raised her eyebrow.  
  
"Oh yes ma'am, all these kids here, I call 'em mine. I know all 328 of 'em. It makes me feel better knowing them so I can protect 'em, you know? Which one did something?"   
  
Scully smiled at the man and shook her head.   
  
"We can't really say anything right now. We would like to see the principal though."   
  
"Yes ma'am. I'll take you to her office." He turned and started walking down the brightly lit hallway. They followed, looking around at all the crucifixes and paintings of Biblical characters and such. The inside of the school was just as beautiful as the outside was.  
  
Black and white checkered floors, tan wall made to look marbled and a huge fountain in the middle of the hallway where two flights of stairs curved up towards the glass domed ceiling. It looked more like a palace than a school.  
  
The guard turned to the left as they reached the fountain and walked through a swinging door into another hallway. The floor turned from hard tile to a lush blue carpet and the walls became a stark white with a few paintings of the ocean on it. He brought them to another door and knocked. Scully looked at the name plate and read the name in gold lettering, Connie Wolf. She heard a muffled "Come on in" and the guard pushed the door opened. The older lady smiled and stood up from behind her desk. She looked to be in her 60's but Scully thought she was probably older.   
  
"Hello, Joe, who have you brought me?" The principal asked and looked over at the agents.  
  
"They're FBI agents, Ms. Wolf, come to talk to you 'bout something." He said and turned away and made his way out the door, closing it behind him.   
  
The woman looked at the agents for a long while and gestured for them to sit. Mulder and Scully took their seats in front of the desk as the woman sat down in her seat.   
  
"We're agents Mulder and Scully and we would like to talk to you about a student that attends school here." Mulder said and flashed his badge.  
  
The principal nodded her head and smiled another warm smile. Scully reached in her pocket and pulled out the picture of Mollie.  
  
"This is Mollie O'Brien, she goes here correct? Scully asked as she handed her the picture.  
  
"Oh yes." Ms. Wolf nodded. "She is such a sweet girl. So many hardships at such a young age. She is a senior here, and has been coming to this school since she was in second grade. What are you investigating her for? I can assure you this young woman wouldn't hurt a fly."   
  
"We aren't exactly investigating her, per se, but we would like to speak with her, if at all possible." Mulder requested.   
  
"Oh that's no problem. Let me just call Joe back in here and he'll go with you to get her. You can use the meeting room across the hall if you need to speak with her in private."   
  
"Thank you Ms. Wolf. That would be helpful." Scully said and the woman nodded and reached for the phone. She pulled Mulder aside and he leaned down as she began whispering.   
  
"Why don't I go with Joe to get Mollie, you see if you can get her school records, there might be something useful in them. Then I'll meet you in the room after I get her."  
  
He nodded his acquiescence and opened the door ushering her out into the hallway as Joe came through the door.  
  
"I'll take you to her classroom." He said and turned to walk down the hallway.  
  
"Thank you Joe." Scully said and hurried to follow him.   
  
Mr. Carrows Anatomy Class  
  
11:00 am   
  
Mollie listened intently to Mr. Carrows as he described the different lobes of the brain. She looked around at the other students and shook her head as she encountered several of them sleeping and a few passing notes.   
  
She looked at Leila and stifled a laugh when she saw drool running from her mouth to the desk she had her head on. How could anyone be bored during this class? It's so interesting. A knock on the door brought her wandering mind back to the present and she watched as Mr. Carrows opened the door. Joe, the security guard, and a short redheaded woman in a business suit walked in.   
  
A few boys turned their heads when the woman entered the room and they started to chatter and leer. Stupid hormonal boys. She looked back down at her Anatomy book and was reading a very interesting story about the different brain diseases when she heard Mr. Carrows say her name. She looked up and saw the woman walking to her. When she got to her desk she bent down.   
  
"Hi there, my names Dana Scully, I'm with the FBI and I'd like for you to come with me and answer a few questions." The woman showed her her badge and motioned for her to follow. Mollie grabbed her books and bag and got up from the desk. A few people giggled and smirked as she walked past them. She looked back at Leila, but she was still sound asleep. Mr. Carrows walked over to her.   
  
"Don't worry about making up the work. You were the only one listening anyway." He told her.   
  
She smiled at him and nodded before she turned to the woman and followed her.   
  
They walked down the stairs, the woman in front and Joe behind her. If she didn't know better, she would think she was being treated like a suspect in a murder. They made their way past the fountain and down the hallway to Ms. Wolf's office. The woman stopped as a very tall, handsome man walked out of the meeting room to their left. He smiled at the woman and then at Joe and put a hand on the office door to their left. He smiled at the woman and then at Joe and put a hand on the office door to keep it open and ushered the woman in with a hand on her back and then turned to Mollie.   
  
"Why don't you come on in." He said and reached out motioning her to come in.   
  
"O...O.K." Mollie stammered and walked in the room. The man shut the door behind her and motioned for her to sit down at the table. Mollie dropped her bag to the floor and put her textbook on the table and sat down in the chair he had indicated. She smoothed out her skirt and looked up at the FBI agents.  
  
Meeting Room 1  
  
11:05 am  
  
Mulder studied the girl sitting in the vinyl chair on the other side of the table. She didn't look much like the girl from the picture anymore. Her hair was shorter, a little longer than shoulder length and it was straight. She had dark circles under her eyes which you could tell she had tried to cover up. Also, her skin was much paler, looking almost translucent, standing out from the dark red of her hair and the dull green of her eyes. She sat, her gaze transfixed on a spot on the table. Her hands were fidgeting, smoothing her skirt again and again. He looked over at Scully. She was standing next to the young girl, looking down at her, her brow crinkled. He could almost think that she was worried about her. Scully looked up at him and raised her eyebrow, a signal for him to start talking. He cleared his throat and looked back at the girl.  
  
"I'm Agent Mulder. Can you answer some questions for us?" Mollie nodded, never taking her eyes off the table.  
  
"Are you Mollie O'Brien?" He asked beginning the interrogation.  
  
She lifted her head and answered in the affirmative and Mulder picked up on a slight Irish lilt to her voice. Must be from living with an Irish parent because she had never lived in Ireland according to her files.   
  
"Did you know Thomas Kilpatrick?"  
  
Something flashed in her eyes but it was so quick he didn't realize what it was. Her eyes did, however, start to tear.  
  
"Tommy? Why are you asking about him?" She struggled to keep from crying. Mulder got the impression that she didn't like to show her emotions much. Hmm...reminded him of someone he knew.   
  
"Are you all right?" Scully asked her.  
  
"I'm fine." She automatically responded .  
  
Ah yes, someone he knew very well, he thought wryly.  
  
"O.K." Scully looked at Mulder. She was going to talk now.  
  
"Mollie, were investigating Tommy's murder. There doesn't seem to be any suspects and the cause of his death was pretty odd. Wouldn't you say?" Scully bent down next to Mollie. Mollie looked at Scully and her gaze traveled down until it rested on the gleaming gold cross hanging round her neck. Mollie's eyes widened as she recognized it as the cross from her dream.  
  
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Scully noticed the girls eyes widen slightly as she looked at her cross. Scully reached up and grabbed it before standing up.   
  
"I'm sorry for staring. That's a beautiful necklace. Where did it come from?" Mollie asked raising her eyes to Scully's   
  
"My mother gave it to me." Scully smiled.  
  
"It's really nice." Mollie turned her lips into a small smile.  
  
"Ummm...back to what you were saying. How was the cause of death odd? I...I don't even know how he died." Mollie looked up at Scully's eyes.   
  
The tears had returned. She had to tell her. She looked at Mulder and he nodded, sensing her need to tell this girl how her friend died.  
  
"Well, it's really weird. I did the autopsy today so they could go ahead and cremate him. And what I found was just..." She trailed off and looked at Mollie. "It was as if someone melted him, from the inside out. Almost like a candle or something."   
  
Mollie's brow knitted and her eyes took on a faraway look. Scully looked over at Mulder who was leaning against the white wall. He pushed off it and walked over to the table.   
  
"Mollie we need you to tell us everything about the last time you saw Tommy and about the day you found him." He said.   
  
Mollie never moved her eyes, almost like she was in a trance.   
  
"You know he didn't want to be." She whispered.   
  
"Didn't want to be what?" Scully asked.  
  
"Cremated." She looked up and a tear escaped her eye. She quickly wiped it away with the back of her hand.  
  
"He didn't?" Mulder asked.  
  
"No his mother is making him be. You know its funny. They hadn't spoken in years and all the sudden she comes back after he dies and starts ordering people around. She never loved him, she was always embarrassed by him. She was rich and wanted him to be a lawyer or doctor but he wanted to play piano. When he chose to go against her and follow his dream, she disowned him. She kicked him out and moved down to Miami. He was sixteen so he couldn't get a great job but he started working at a restaurant near my house. That's where I met him." She took a deep breath.   
  
"I was twelve and was a big tomboy so we started talking about sports and stuff. We became friends. He was the first person I ever opened up to. I knew that his mom left him but when he died I though she had a right to know, you know. So I tracked her down and she came up here. That's when she ordered him to be cremated." Mollie looked at the table. "We wanted to be buried together but now, we never will be." Tears rolled down her cheeks freely.  
  
"You weren't just friends were you?" Scully asked looking down at Mollie. When Mollie looked up Scully continued.  
  
"Were you lovers?"   
  
Mollie blushed slightly but looked at Scully.   
  
"Not in the way you're thinking of. But in every other way, yes. I was his first kiss and he was mine. He was my best friend, my confidant, my soul mate." Mollie looked over at Mulder.  
  
"I know Soul mate sounds cheesy but he was mine. Have you ever had someone that you loved so much and just knew that you couldn't live without them?"   
  
Mulder smiled and looked over at Scully then back at Mollie.  
  
"Yea, I do. I know what you're talking about." He took a breath.  
  
"Mollie, can you tell me why you were over at his house when you found him?"   
  
Mollie looked down, gathering her thoughts, when they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Ms. Wolf peered in from the other side.  
  
"I hate to interrupt, but Mollie, your dad's in the hospital. He's had another spell." Ms. Wolf said.   
  
Mollies hand shot up to her mouth and a muffled "no" escaped.  
  
Continued in Chapter 3 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
St. Vincent's Hospital.  
  
March 13  
  
12:11 p.m.  
  
Scully pulled Mollie's car into the parking garage and found a slot on the third floor. She parked the car and turned off the engine. Mollie had been too shaken up to drive herself, so Scully had volunteered to drive Mollie to the hospital and Mollie had told her she could drive her car so if need be, Mollie had transportation. They had driven in silence except for the occasional direction on where to go from Mollie. Mollie had gotten out of the car at the front door and told Scully to park in the all-day parking garage. Scully had told her she would find her after she parked and drove to the garage.   
  
Scully sighed and opened the door. Mollie kept her VW Jetta spotless. She silently wondered how someone Mollie's age had been able to get a new car. She didn't think   
  
Mollie's family was particularly rich. She locked the car and made her way into the building and up to the front desk.   
  
"May I help you, Miss?" The woman behind the desk asked.  
  
"Yes I need the room number of Ewan O'Brien."   
  
The woman tapped on the keyboard until she found the room number.   
  
"Are you family?" She asked.  
  
"No, but I need to get up there. I brought his daughter up here."  
  
"I'm sorry but he is only allowed family members at this time."  
  
Scully took out her badge and showed it to the woman.  
  
"I need to get up there." Scully repeated.  
  
The woman's eyes lingered on the badge.   
  
"Room 313."   
  
"Thank you." Scully said and deposited her badge back in her pocket and got on the nearest elevator. When she found the room, she saw Mollie sitting on the floor outside it. She looked up when she heard Scully approaching. Scully could see the girl was crying. She squatted down next to her so they were eye level.   
  
"What's wrong? Why are you out here?"   
  
"The doctor came to see...see me before I went in the room. He wanted to tell....he wanted to let me know that my dad had lapsed into a coma when he arrived and that....and that they don't have much hope that he'll wake up."  
  
At this point Mollie was crying profusely, not caring if anyone saw. Scully put her hand on Mollies shoulder and Mollie turned into it. Scully gathered her up into her arms and let the girl cry.   
  
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Mulder had busied himself after Scully had left with Mollie to go to the hospital. He had read over Mollie's school files, only to find that she was an A+ student, never got into trouble. The only thing that did stand out was the outstanding number of absences she had all dating back to when she was 10. Before that she had never missed a day. He noticed the date of the first absence was on April 15th, almost 2 weeks before her mother died in the boating accident. For some reason he believed this could mean something and catalogued it in his memory.  
  
Now he was on his way to the hospital to meet up with Scully. Maybe they could go get some lunch somewhere and discuss the case. He pulled into the parking garage, grabbing a time ticket on the way in. He found where Scully had parked Mollie's VW Jetta and pulled the rental car into the slot next to it. There weren't many cars around now as it was lunch time. He made his way into the building and found a receptionist desk where he obtained the room number and jumped on the elevator. When he found the room, the door was open partially and he heard Scully talking softly and also a muffled sound, like someone crying. Uh-oh that couldn't be good. He pushed the door open and saw Scully and Mollie sitting next to a hospital bed with a middle aged man lying in it, tubes coming out of his nose and mouth. Mollie was crying softly and had her head on Scully's shoulder. Scully was whispering to her and had her arm around Mollie's shoulders. Scully looked up at Mulder, realizing that he was there, then back down at Mollie.  
  
"Mollie, I'm going to go talk to Agent Mulder. I'll be right back." She got up and walked over to Mulder.  
  
"Let's go out in the hall." She whispered and moved passed him into the hallway. He followed and closed the door.   
  
"Not good news, huh?" He asked and looked down at her.  
  
"No, it's not. Her father's in a coma and the doctors have no idea why and they don't believe that he is going to come out of it." She explained.   
  
"God! How much does this girl have to go through?"  
  
"I don't know, but this is crazy! Flukemen, ghosts, past lives, liver-eating brain sucking mutants, even aliens, I can handle, but what is so wrong with this girl that makes it so everyone she loves dies. I mean, can't she just have a moments peace?" Scully pondered and looked at Mulder. He could tell this case meant something to her and was just about to say something to her when....  
  
"What kind of cases do you investigate, exactly?" A voice asked. Mulder and Scully turned back to the door and saw Mollie standing there, her brows furrowed.   
  
"What?" Scully asked obviously not knowing what to say.   
  
"What type of cases? You said something about ghosts and aliens and fukemen." She stepped closer to them.  
  
"Flukemen." Mulder corrected.  
  
"We investigate something called the X-Files. Cases that others think are unsolvable." Scully explained.  
  
"So you investigate weird stuff?"   
  
Scully smiled and nodded. "Yea, yea we do."   
  
"So you hear a lot of crazy stuff from people and you don't think they're loony?"  
  
"No, she only thinks I'm loony." Mulder smiled and Scully shook her head.  
  
"Exactly. But seriously no, I don't think all of them are. Most of them I do, but some are substantial." Scully said.  
  
"Why is there something you want to tell us Mollie?" Mulder prodded.  
  
She looked back into her fathers room and sighed, blinking away tears.  
  
"Yea, but not here. I can't think here." She looked back at Mulder.  
  
"O.K., let's go get some lunch and we can talk there." He suggested.  
  
"O.K., but I didn't bring my purse."  
  
"Don't worry, the bureau will pick it up." He grinned and she visibly relaxed slightly.  
  
"All right." She agreed and went to get her sweater. Then all three left the building to find someplace for lunch.   
  
Bennegin's Restaurant  
  
1:30 p.m.  
  
"Hi there guys. My name is Brittany and I'll be your server today! Can I go ahead and get your drink order?" an annoyingly bubbly blonde girl asked.   
  
"Umm, yea, Iced tea." Mulder said looking over the menu the hostess had given them when she sat the at the table.   
  
"O.K., and for you ladies?" She chirped.  
  
"Water." Scully said absently.  
  
"Water." Mollie said as well.   
  
"O.K., 2 waters and an iced tea. I'll be back in a second with them." Miss Chirpiness squeaked and skipped away.   
  
"Please, take your time." Mollie mumbled and rolled her eyes. Scully bit back a laugh.   
  
"I'm not too hungry, do they have anything small here?" Scully looked over and asked Mollie.   
  
"Not really. I mean even the salads are huge." She replied.   
  
"Well what do you usually get?"   
  
"Usually? The Turkey O'Toole. It's really good. Every time we came here, I would always split it with Tommy..." Her voice trailed off and she swallowed the lump in her throat as the Happiness monster returned with their drinks.  
  
"O.K. guys, here we go. Your iced tea and your waters. All righty, have you guys decided what you want to eat?" She looked over at Scully.  
  
"I guess I'll have the grilled chicken salad with Italian dressing." Scully handed her menu to the girl.   
  
"O.K., and you sir?"  
  
"The, uh, Turkey O'Toole. That sounds good. I'll have that." He said and smiled at Mollie.   
  
"All right, and you miss?"   
  
"I'll just have a regular salad with fat free ranch." Mollie turned towards the girl.   
  
"Wow! I love your accent! Are you, like, from Britain or Australia or something?" The waitress asked enthusiastically.  
  
"I'm Irish." Mollie stated.  
  
"Cool! Can you say my name? Brittany?"  
  
Mollie stared at the girl like she was nuts, but she'd do anything to get the girl away from the table so she could talk to the agents.   
  
"Brittany." She said the girls name, adding some extra accent in with it.   
  
"Oh awesome! That's so cool!" The girl grinned and clapped her hands together. "I'll be back in a few minutes." She turned and ran towards the kitchen. "Elizabeth, there's a girl that speaks Irish out here. She said my name! It was so cool." She yelled as she ran.   
  
Mollies left eyebrow shot up at the same time that Scully's right one did. Mulder couldn't help himself, with the dumb waitress and then synchronized eyebrow lifts, he broke out in hard laughter. Scully and Mollie stared at him and soon Scully joined in and Mollie followed, smiling.   
  
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After the laughter had died down and the food had come, Mollie's face turned serious and Mulder looked over at her.   
  
"Do you want to tell us what it is that's been bothering you?" He asked her. He didn't want to push her but he really needed to know what it was she was hiding.  
  
"Yea, I need to tell someone and you guys seem like you could maybe help since you find out about weird stuff." She shrugged. "I don't know, maybe you'll just think I'm crazy and lock me up in the funny farm or something. Nobody really knows except for Leila, my best friend, the girl that was sleeping next to me in Anatomy." She looked at Scully as she nodded in recognition. "Anyways, I told her that they were gone. They never were though."  
  
Mollie drew her lips into a thin line and looked down at the table.  
  
"They? Who's they?" Scully asked.  
  
"Not who, What. Dreams." Mollie looked over at Scully.   
  
"What kind of dreams?" Mulder spoke up.   
  
"Well, I guess they aren't really dreams. They're more like nightmares. Horrible nightmares. The kind where you wake up sweating from and crying. The kind where you're afraid to fall asleep for fear of what's going to happen in them." Mollie's eyes shone with unshed tears.  
  
Mulder sympathized with her. He still had nightmares about his sister and Scully's abductions. He remembered how hard it was to have them as a kid.   
  
"What happens in them?" Scully pushed.   
  
"People die. My mother, my relatives, Tommy." A tear broke free and ran down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away.   
  
"Well Mollie, that's perfectly normal. Most people have dreams of their loved ones dying." Scully explained to her.   
  
"But do most people see the people die exactly how they die, before they die?"  
  
"What? Are you saying that you had premonitory dreams about these people dying?" Scully crinkled her forehead.   
  
"Yes. And I see how they die before they actually do."  
  
"When did this start happening Mollie?" Mulder asked leaning his forearms on the table.   
  
"A couple of weeks before my mom died." She brushed away another tear.  
  
"Is that why you were absent from school for the first time two weeks before she died?" He asked.  
  
"Yea. I obviously hadn't gotten much sleep the night before so my mom stayed home with me the next day. She told me that it had just been a dream and that nothing was going to take her away from me. That nothing bad was going to happen." Mollie twisted a gold heart ring on her left ring finger as she spoke.   
  
"You said, you see how they die. What do you mean? You didn't know how Tommy died. You had to ask me for the cause of death." Scully pointed out.   
  
"In my dreams, I see things happen to them but it never makes until I find out exactly how they died. I saw my mother pushed off a cliff and disappear into a black sea, and then in real life she drowned. I saw my aunts heart burst out of her chest, she had a massive heart attack the next week." She paused. "I even saw my dog, Buster, all the sudden implode on his right side and then he was run over by a car a couple days after."   
  
"What did you see with Tommy?"   
  
"He melted. Like a fire was coming from the inside out and he just melted away."  
  
"Is that all that happens in your dreams? Just people dying? You don't see anything else?" Mulder questioned.   
  
"Actually no. There's always someone else there with me. Its a woman, with long straight red hair and blue eyes. When she looks at me, its like she's shooting ice at me or something. I think she hates me, but I have no idea who she is. I had a really weird dream last night and the night before. Both the same one. I was standing on this cliff with green luscious grass, overlooking the ocean and then Tommy came up behind me and we kissed and then he actually turned into that woman and she laughed at me and the ground opened and swallowed me. It was so hot, like I was going to hell or something." Her eyes glazed over as she remembered the dreams.  
  
"And the woman is always there?" Mulder asked breaking the trance Mollie had been in.   
  
"Yes, for as long as I can remember, she's been in my dreams. She's not a normal woman either. She, she's always in this old timey dress, like something you'd see in a King Arthur movie."  
  
"Has there ever been anyone else?" Scully asked.  
  
"Yes, but I've never seen her face. I've just caught glimpses of her. She's only been in a few dreams, all of them ones of my dad. I think she might be protecting him from the other lady. I think that's why my dad hasn't been taken from me yet. I don't think the redheaded woman can get him from the other." She never took her eyes off the table.  
  
"Have they ever said their names?" Scully pushed.  
  
"I don't know. I can't remember. I don't think so." She stopped. "That's really all I can tell you right now."   
  
There was a few minutes of silence then Mulder stood up and announced he was going to go pay the bill. After he rounded the corner out of sight, Mollie turned to Scully.   
  
"I didn't tell Agent Mulder everything about the dreams." She admitted quietly.  
  
"What did you leave out?" Scully raised her eyebrow.   
  
"Two nights ago, when I had that dream that Tommy turned into that woman, I saw something. I was standing on the cliff and before Tommy came up to me I saw something shiny on the ground. It was a necklace. I don't know why but when I picked it up, I had this sensation of being safe. Then I dropped it when Tommy came up to me." Mollie paused and Scully wondered what this had to do with anything. Mollie took a deep breath and looked Scully straight in her eyes.   
  
"It was your necklace."   
  
Continued in Chapter 4 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
Bennegin's Restaurant  
  
2:15 p.m.  
  
Scully stared at the girl for a moment.  
  
"Well maybe you just think you saw my necklace. I mean it's just a cross. A lot of people have them."   
  
"Yea that's what I told myself when I first saw it today, but when I really looked at it in the meeting room, I realized it was the same one."  
  
"How do you know?" Scully retorted.   
  
"The necklace in my dreams had a slight indention on the right side, a crack, like it had been through a lot. When you bent down next to me in the meeting room today I saw the light glint off an indention on the right side." Mollie reached out and grabbed Scully's necklace. "Look for yourself."  
  
Scully looked down her nose at her cross. Sure enough right under the right arm was a little crack, an indention in the gold.   
  
"What do you think it means?" She asked looking back up at Mollie as she let go of the necklace.  
  
"I don't know, but like I said it made me feel safe until I dropped it. Maybe my dream was telling me someone was coming to help. Someone to protect me." Mollies eyes glistened with unshed tears. "Will you help me?"  
  
Scully wasn't exactly sure she believed in all this dream fortune-telling stuff, but she didn't believe Mollie was lying and she certainly couldn't explain what was going on. Mollie had already gone through so much in her life already and if Scully could help her, she would.  
  
"Yes. I'll help you."  
  
"Thank-you." Mollie said and looked back down at the table as Mulder came back from the register.  
  
"You guys ready to go?" He asked noticing a perplexed look on Scully's face.  
  
Wordlessly, the 2 women rose and walked away from the table. Mollie slowed so the two agents could walk in front of her, like her grandmother said children should, to give respect to adults. As they passed she noticed Mulder seems to be guiding Scully with a protective hand on the small of her back. Tommy used to do that to her. Perhaps the agents were closer than meets the eye.  
  
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They dropped Mollie back off at the hospital and decided to head back to the hotel, since there wasn't much they could do with the case now. Traffic downtown was going to be hell right now anyway.   
  
"Well Mulder, what do you think is going on?" Scully asked, stomping her foot on the floor on the invisible break pedal on the passengers side when Mulder slammed on brakes, narrowly missing a semi.   
  
"I don't know Scully. I have no idea what to do now. Do you believe her?" He asked and looked over to meet her gaze.   
  
"I don't know. I don't think she'd lie about anything like that. What good would it do her?"   
  
Mulder was silent for a few moments.  
  
"Well what do you want to do now?" Scully asked.  
  
"What do I want to do? I want to go swimming." He grinned and bounced in his seat like a little boy.  
  
"I meant about the case, Mulder." She said hiding the smile that was threatening to form on her lips.   
  
"Well, I don't see anything we can do right now. Besides, I'm really wound up, I need to relax and think about the case. So what do you say? Wanna try out that heated pool?" He waggled his eyebrows and Scully couldn't fight the smile anymore. She turned her head to the front window.  
  
"Ok, I could go for a swim, but only if you promise to thin about the case."  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his grin widen.   
  
St. Vincent's Hospital  
  
3:45 p.m.  
  
Mollie held the hand of her father. Her mind was racing with memories of her father. Remembering times when things were happy, when she was happy. She squeezed his hand silently pleading for him to squeeze back and wake up. What would she do if he left her. She would have no one else. Well, that's not entirely true, she would still have Leila, but for how much longer? How long until the redhead took her as well. Another spoil of war.  
  
"Miss?"   
  
Mollie looked up at a young candy striper that had entered the room and subsequently broken her reverie.   
  
"I'm sorry miss. I know he's your father but visiting hours are over. I'm going to have to ask you to leave." She said apologetically. "If there are any changes we will call."  
  
Mollie nodded, rose and leaned over and kissed her fathers forehead. She quickly gathered her bag and purse and left the room.   
  
She brushed away a tear that was clinging to her eyelashes and pushed a strand of auburn hair behind her ear. A shrill ringing erupted from her purse as she entered the parking garage. She grabbed her cell phone and punched the talk button, after recognizing Leila's number as the incoming caller.   
  
"Yea?" She said into the phone and unlocked her car, throwing her bags in the backseat.   
  
"Hey! I just heard about your dad. Is he ok?" Leila's voice resounded in her ear. She turned the ignition over and pulled out of the garage.  
  
"No, he's not. He's in a coma and I don't know what's going to happen." She sighed.  
  
"Oh God Mollie! I'm so sorry. I'm coming over. When are you going to be home?"  
  
Mollie didn't really feel like company but Leila was like her sister and she knew she shouldn't be alone.   
  
"Ummm...20 minutes, I guess." She said looking at the dashboard clock.   
  
"Ok, I'll bring pizza. I'll just stay the night, ok. We'll have a movie night." Leila said and hung up.   
  
Mollie ended her call and merged into traffic. 'I wonder if anyone told Leila bout the FBI agents.' If not, she'd tell her tonight.  
  
The Omni  
  
4:05 p.m.   
  
Scully studied her figure in the mirror. Should she change suits? Was this one too revealing? It was a royal blue bikini, and a rather skimpy one at that. It even had a little belt that held the bottoms together. What would happen if the belt accidentally came undone? What would Mulder...Oh god, that's it, she was changing. How could she even think about wearing this when she was going swimming with Mulder? She turned around and dug through her bag to find her black one-piece. As she lifted it out, the connecting door opened and Mulder walked in without warning, wearing a towel around his waist.  
  
"You ready, Scuh..." He trailed off and looked at her, his eyes wide.  
  
She looked around for something to cover her up. Finding nothing she crossed her arms over her chest.  
  
"Mulder, don't you ever knock?" She huffed.  
  
"Sorry Scully. Are you ready?" He unconsciously bit his lip.  
  
"Well I was just about to change." She held up the simple one-piece.  
  
"No!" He said quickly, then smiled. "I like that suit. It's nice."  
  
She couldn't believe it, but she actually blushed. What a sight she must be, a 30-something year old woman blushing from head to toe in front of her partner. She swallowed hard and nodded.  
  
"Alright, let me get a towel before we go." She went to the bathroom and grabbed a towel.  
  
"Let's go." She smiled and left the room, him following closely.  
  
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He couldn't believe his eyes. She was so beautiful, and that bikini, God, it was nice. Yea nice that's the word to describe it.   
  
Sexy was more like it.   
  
The elevator dinging and opened up. Scully got on first and Mulder noticed a few business men oogling her. That's not right! No one could oogle her except for him...when she wasn't looking. He entered the elevator and purposely stepped behind Scully as close as he could get. He put his hand on her shoulder and glared at the men. Yea that's right boys, stare all you want but you can't touch. HA! Scully would probably kill him if she knew he was thinking this. Well maybe not kill him, shoot him. If only he knew what she was thinking.   
  
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The possessive hand on her shoulder should piss her off but actually it made her smile. She had noticed the territorial look on his face when he caught some of the men staring at her. It made her feel special to have him touch her and glare at the other men, as if they were competition.  
  
The elevator ride ended and Scully stepped out.  
  
"Which way to the pool?" She turned to Mulder who was still in the elevator.  
  
"It's this way." He said walking towards her and ushering her to the left, casting one last glare at a particularly unnerved young man, who was still blatantly staring at Scully.  
  
They entered the pool room, which surprisingly was almost vacant. The only occupants was a small family. They mother was sitting in a lounge chair while the father was trying to teach the little girl, no more than 4, to swim.   
  
"Come on sweetie, you can do it. Swim to daddy." The man said as the little girl splashed around in the shallow end. Scully smile wistfully at them and turned towards Mulder.  
  
"Look Scully, a hot tub." He pointed and removed his towel revealing black swim trunks.   
  
"What Mulder, no Speedo?" She grinned and looked at his chosen attire.  
  
"I didn't think you could control yourself if I had worn one." He leered.   
  
She shook her head and started to walk toward the hot tub.   
  
"I'm getting in the tub, care to join me?" She asked looking over her shoulder at him.  
  
"Last one there's a rotten egg." He grinned and took off towards it. Oh no, he didn't. No way was he getting there before her.   
  
She sped up her pace and reached it first. She jumped in and immediately regretted it. It was HOT! She hissed and stood up as Mulder gingerly stuck a toe in to test the water.  
  
"Hot, Scully?" He quipped and walked down the steps into the water slowly.  
  
"Just a little." She looked down at her arms and stomach which had turned a bright red. Better than a blush at least.   
  
Mulder groaned as he leaned back against the hot tub wall.   
  
"Care to get comfy, Scully?" He asked and pointedly looked to the place next to him.  
  
There was no one else in the hot tub, so she could sit anywhere she wanted but he wanted her to sit next to him. He was testing to see if she actually would. She surprised him and waded over to his side and sat down.   
  
"Oh God, this feels good." She sighed and closed her eyes and leaned her head back onto his arm, which was resting on the lip of the tub.  
  
"Yes it does." He mumbled and settled in more into the tub.  
  
She could almost fall asleep.   
  
1131 Elmhurst Road  
  
4:30 p.m.  
  
Mollie turned off the ignition and got out of the car with her bags in hand. She heard a car barreling down the street with the loud thumping of punk music. She shook her head slightly as Leila's red Honda Civic pulled into her driveway. Her lips turned up into a small smile as Leila exited her vehicle carrying a pizza box in one hand and a bag from Blockbuster in the other. She held up the pizza and bag.   
  
"Hawaiian Pizza and Romy and Michelle's High school Reunion." She stated and fell in step with Mollie as they made their way into the house.   
  
They settled onto the couch and Leila stuck the movie in the VCR. The pizza looked really good and Mollie smile when she bit into it. Leila knew just what to do to make her feel better.  
  
"Ok, what's this John tells me about the FBI coming for ya?" Leila asked, stuffing her mouth full of pizza and ignoring the previews for the movie on the TV.  
  
"So you did hear about that." Mollie said, delicately biting another bit of pizza.   
  
"Yea, John said that some chick came and got you out of Anatomy. He said she was FBI or something. He also said she was hot. I wouldn't know, cuz that's my nap time." She ended chuckling.   
  
"Sounds like something he'd say." Mollie responded.  
  
"So, what is the FBI doing here anyways?" Leila said as she began a second slice of pizza.  
  
Mollie set down her first slice into the pizza box and looked at Leila. She huffed a sigh.  
  
"They're investigating Tommy's death." She hesitated.  
  
"And? Mollie what did you tell them?" Leila asked dropping her slice in the box as well.  
  
"I told them about my dreams."  
  
"What! Mollie! Are you crazy? They're going to think you're nuts! Why did you tell them?"   
  
"I don't know, but, that's the thing, I don't think they think I'm crazy. I'm pretty sure they believe me. They said they'd help. Well at least Agent Scully said she would. I believe her. I trust her."  
  
"Why do you trust her? You never trust anyone so quickly." Leila scrunched her eyebrows.   
  
"I just do." Mollie finished, not wanting to go into the details about Scully's necklace mysteriously being in her dream.   
  
"Let's just watch the movie, ok. I want to wind down. Tomorrow's a big day." Mollie ended the conversation and settled in to watch her favorite comedy. Tomorrow would be a big day, after all it was Tommy's memorial service. Right now, she didn't even want to think.  
  
Continued in Chapter 5 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
  
The warm spray of water beat down on her for the shower head, fully awakening her. She couldn't believe she had actually fallen asleep in the hot tub with Mulder. She'd probably still be in there if it weren't for the fact that he had awoken her to ask permission for them to get out because he was turning into a prune. A cute prune but still a prune.   
  
She smiled at the memory of him pouting and holding out his hands for her to see the wrinkles. She turned the water off and grabbed a towel hanging on the rack over the toilet. She didn't dare look towards the sink, knowing that if she did, she would see her naked form in the huge mirror over the vanity. Why did they always have to have a huge mirror in the bathroom anyway?   
  
It wasn't like she was embarrassed or ashamed of her body, she just didn't see the need in looking at it in the mirror, especially when she was red from the heat of the hot tub.  
  
The sound of the bathroom door creaking open broke her from her reverie. She quickly wrapped the towel around her and peered out from behind the shower curtain. The room suddenly felt chilly and she shivered.  
  
"Mulder?" She called out quietly. "Is that you?"   
  
No one answered so she left the bathroom and walked into her darkened room. Hadn't she left her curtain open? She grabbed her gun from the dresser and took the safety off. A muffled thump from Mulder's room drew her attention and she ran to open the connecting door.   
  
"Freeze!" She barked and pointed her gun at the figure standing at the front door.  
  
"Scully?" Asked a startled Mulder, turning from the open door where a man in a hotel uniform stood holding a few dollars in his hand. A wonderful smell hit her and she suddenly realized Mulder had ordered dinner from room service and that he was just giving the man that brought it to his room a tip.   
  
"Sorry, I thought...." She trailed off and reached behind her to put her gun back in the holster.  
  
Her eyes went wide as her hand brushed the fabric of the towel. The TOWEL! She was still in her towel. She must look like a complete ass, busting into his room, pointing a gun at him, all the while wearing nothing but a towel and a glare. She looked down at the floor and tried to hide the blush creeping up her cheeks. Oh no, not the damn blush again! How much more juvenile was she going to get? First a blush then what? Crawling around on the floor asking for a "baba" or for "mama"?  
  
The sound of the door closing made her raise her head. Mulder was looking at her curiously.  
  
"You ok, Scully?" He asked and beckoned her to the table where 2 plates of grilled chicken and broccoli sat.   
  
"Yea, I'm fine. This looks great Mulder." She smiled her appreciation and reached for chair. Oh wait, she was still in her towel.   
  
"Maybe I should go get dressed before I eat, huh?" She laughed.  
  
He looked her up and down, his eyes lingering on her upper thighs, barely covered by the towel, with a glint in his eyes.   
  
"Oh, I hadn't even noticed you were in a towel." He winked.  
  
"Yea, I'm so sure." She smiled and went back to her room and changed into her blue satin pajamas and towel dried her hair.   
  
When she returned to his room, he was laying on the bed, his food untouched.  
  
"You didn't have to wait for me to eat, you know." She grinned when got up.  
  
"Oh, but didn't you know that Miss Manners says it's a rule?" He deadpanned.  
  
"Since when do you ever follow rules?" She retorted and sat down to enjoy her meal.  
  
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She lay in her bed, trying to fall asleep but not being able to. Dinner with Mulder had been great. Once they had finished the food, they had discussed the case. She hadn't told him about Mollie seeing her necklace in the dream. She didn't understand it.   
  
How could she explain it to Mulder?   
  
At 9, Scully had excused herself to her room to get some sleep. They were going to go over to police headquarters in the morning to get the files on Tommy. Then they were going to find the medical records for Mollie's relatives since all of their deaths were ruled natural and the police wouldn't have the files anymore. Was it possible that someone from Mollie's dreams was actually killing these people? That was Mulder's theory. He thought that the redhead was somehow killing them. Could it be true? It sounded pretty crazy, but then again, everything she had seen in all her years with Mulder had been crazy.   
  
The curtains hanging over the windows moved gently, as if a wind had blown by. Was the AC on? She guessed so because a breeze blew by her and she suppressed a shiver and pulled the blankets up tightly around her shoulders. She closed her eyes but snapped them open quickly. Someone was in the room, she could feel it. She reached up and turned the bedside light on, casting a dim light on the room, making shadows elongate on the walls.   
  
"Is someone there?" She looked around.   
  
She got out of the bed and went to the bathroom to see if someone was hiding in there. Nothing. No one was in the room. She shook her head and smiled as she made her way back to the bed.   
  
"You're getting too paranoid." She berated herself and switched off the light.   
  
She closed her eyes and drifted off into sleep. If she had kept them open one moment longer she would not have missed the curtains ruffle as a figure of a woman stepped out from behind them and made her way towards the bed where the sleeping Scully lay.   
  
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It was so dark. Darker than anything she had seen before. Everywhere she looked was black. She turned around in a complete circle. Where was she? She turned around again and gasped. A woman stood in an aura of red light. She was staring at Scully with her icy blue eyes. Instantly, Scully recognized the woman as the one Mollie had described from her dreams. Her long red hair gently moved in an invisible wind. She opened her mouth. "Leave." Was the word that trickled out. "Why? Who are you?"   
  
Scully asked, frozen in place. A loud cackle erupted from the woman. "It is not your concern." She replied and Scully picked up on an Irish accent, a very heavy one. "It is! Why are you doing this to Mollie? Why are you hurting her?" "She deserves it."   
  
"Why? What has she done that's so terrible?" A bright flash of light burst through the darkness and another woman, a beautiful dark-haired woman, appeared next to the evil one. Scully watched the scene play out in front of her eyes. The redhead jerked her head towards the new woman. "Morgayne." She said in greeting. "What are you doing, Kiara? You have no power over this woman. You shouldn't be here." The new woman said and shook her head, the long black curls bouncing back and forth at her waist. "If anyone shouldn't be here it is her!" The redhead, Kiara, yelled pointing at Scully. "Leave her alone, she is not here for you. Leave." Morgayne cried out, lifting her hand, and the redhead disappeared as a red light engulfed her. "I'm sorry." Morgayne said and turned from Scully. "Wait, who are you? Why is she doing this to Mollie? Is she the one killing everyone?" Scully cried out to her. "I am Morgayne, she is Kiara. She is doing what she can, what she is allowed. I'm just glad you're finally here Dana. I need help. Kiara is becoming stronger. I can't do this alone anymore." She said and turned back to look at Scully. "Will you help me?" She echoed Mollie's words and disappeared. "Wait, no! Come back!" Scully screamed and fell as the ground broke away.  
  
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She darted awake, gasping and shaking. She mentally tried to calm herself. What the hell had just happened? That couldn't possibly have been a real dream. It was just a dream born of suggestions. Mollie had described them so she was susceptible to the images and of course would have a dream about them. Yea that was it. It wasn't real. It wasn't anything to worry about, so why couldn't she shake this scared feeling and calm down?  
  
She sighed. Mulder always calmed her, maybe she should see if he was still up.   
  
She up out of the bed and crept over to the adjoining door. Through the wall she heard the sound of the TV and knew he was still up. She lightly knocked on the door and opened it. He was sitting on the bed propped up with pillows at the headboard, watching the TV. At least he was ready for bed, wearing some long plaid pajama bottoms and his gray T-shirt she loved. He looked over at her, curious as to why she was there.  
  
"Scully, what's wrong?" He asked, getting up and moving to where she stood at the door.   
  
"I...I couldn't sleep. Mind if I stay over here for a while?" She asked and looked up to meet his eyes. Maybe she would tell him about the dream later, not now.   
  
"No, no it's ok. I only have one bed though." He touched her shoulder and shrugged.  
  
"That's fine." She said and walked over to the bed and sat down next to where he had been sitting. He looked a little stunned but got back in bed next to her.   
  
"So, what are we watching?" She looked at the TV.  
  
"Oh just something on the Discovery channel about the Loch Ness Monster."   
  
"What, no porn?"   
  
"Nah, I've already seen all the in-house movies. A guy can only take so much you know." He smiled and offered. "If you want, I can change this to something you want to watch."  
  
"No, this is fine." She said as she settled into the bed some more. His room was a little colder than hers and she couldn't hold back the shiver that ran through her. Cold rooms and drying sweat didn't mix well.   
  
"You cold?" He asked and looked over at her with concern.  
  
"A little." She nodded.   
  
He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to his side. She gently molded into him and laid her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Thanks." She smile into his T-shirt.  
  
"My pleasure." He said and returned his attention back to the TV.  
  
After a few minutes she sighed and closed her eyes, reveling in the sound of his heartbeat and constant up and down motion of his chest. Finally she fell into a quiet, dreamless sleep.   
  
Continued in Chapter 6 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
  
The Omni  
March 14  
7:55 am  
She drifted back into consciousness slowly, breathing deeply as she did so. What was that smell? The certainly didn't smell like her bed. Actually it was a very familiar smell, it smelled like...  
Something shifted beneath her head and she felt someone touching her hair, smoothing it down. She opened her eyes and looked up. When she saw his smile, she smiled back.  
"Morning." Mulder greeted. "Sleep well?"  
"Yes, I'm sorry I fell asleep in here, I'm sure you didn't want me taking up all your space. You should have woken me so I could go back to my room."   
"Scully, you were sleeping so peacefully, I didn't have the heart to wake you. Also I don't know if you know this, but you don't take up much space. Besides," He shrugged. "I didn't mind." He grinned shyly.  
She looked down at their current position He was laying on his back. She was curled up next to him on her left side. Her head was on his chest and one arm was draped around his waist. Her right leg was thrown over his and was slaying in between his legs.  
"I guess you were my personal pillow." She said looking back at his face.  
"Guess so." He said, all humor leaving his voice as his eyes darkened. She stared into his eyes and licked her lips. His tongue darted out to wet his own. He lifted his head up to hers.   
'Oh my God, is he going to kiss me?' Was the thought running through her mind.  
He inched closer.  
'Oh God, Oh God, Oh God, Oh God.'  
His lips brushed hers ever so slightly before he backed away, searching her eyes.   
'Is this ok?' His eyes asked.  
In answer, she moved her head up to his and her lips made contact with his lower lip.   
RING  
Mulder groaned and grabbed for the hotel phone.   
"Hello?" He growled.   
"Yes, Agent Mulder, this is the front desk. We were just calling because you had requested a wake up call for 8." A man's voice said.   
"Oh yes, thank you." He said and placed the phone back on the receiver. Scully rolled off of Mulder and stood up.  
"Where are you going?" Mulder sat up.  
"I'm gong to go to my room and take a shower and then get dressed so we can go to the police station and hospitals." She answered and walked away from the bed.   
"Need some help?" He leered.  
She turned ever so slightly, gave him a small smile and turned back muttering "Maybe some day."  
"I heard that!" He yelled as she walked into her room. "And I must say, I can't wait till someday!"  
She smiled and bit her lip. Grabbing clothes from her duffel bag, she made her way to the shower, feeling phantom kisses on her lips.  
1131 Elmhurst Drive  
8:13 am.  
The sound of someone pattering around her room awoke her. What time was it?   
Mollie begrudgingly opened her eyes and peered over at her Betty Boop wall clock. 8:13. She was going to be late for school! Why hadn't she woken up earlier? Why hadn't the alarm clock gone off and who was that in her room?  
She sat up and instantly regretted it as a wave of nausea came over her and her vision blurred. She made a low guttural moan and covered her mouth with her hand.   
"Mollie? Hey are you ok? You look like you're going to puke." Leila asked walking over to the bed. Ah, yes that's who was in her room. She had spent the night. Why? Mollie couldn't remember.   
"Yea...I'm fine. I just got a little dizzy and sick to my stomach." She replied an swung her legs over the side of the bed and rested her head in her hand.   
"You're not pregnant are you?" Leila asked eyeing her.  
"Leila." Mollie groaned. "You have to have sex to get pregnant."  
"Well just checking." She shrugged. "I'm gonna go fix us some cereal. You get dressed. We have to be at the church for the memorial service by 10." Leila jumped off the bed and made her way to the kitchen.  
The memorial service. Now she remembered why Leila was there. She was going to the service with her. It hadn't been a dream. Tommy was still dead and her father was in a coma at the hospital. Mollie grabbed the phone off her nightstand and dialed the familiar number.  
"Saint Vincent's." Came the terse impersonal greeting.  
"Yes, I was calling to check up on my father, Ewan O'Brien. He's in ICU."  
"Hold please." Canned elevator music floated out of the phone into her ear. She heard a click then a woman came on the line.  
"ICU, this is Sheila speaking."  
"Yes, I would like to know how Ewan O'Brien is. Is he out of the coma or what?"  
"Are you family?" The voice, Sheila asked.  
"Yes. I'm his daughter."  
"Oh ok. Well, he hasn't had any changes at all. In fact, his BP is still the same and hasn't changed since yesterday. I'm sorry I don't have better news for you, miss."  
Mollie let out a sigh.   
"That's ok. Thank you." Mollie said. She hadn't expected any change. "Good-bye."  
She hung up the phone and looked towards the bedroom door. Leila stood there.   
"No change?" She asked and slowly walked to the bed and sat down.   
"No." Mollie sighed. Suddenly she crumbled and all her emotions flowed out. She fell against her friends shoulder and sobbed vehemently. Yeah, this was going to be a terrific day. Zip-pid-dee-doo-da!  
9:35 am  
Mollie sat on her couch, her head in her hands, looking at the floor. Last night had been the first night in months that she hadn't had a nightmare. In fact, she hadn't dreamt at all, just fallen into a deep sleep. Maybe finally talking about the dreams had stopped them. Maybe letting out her feelings to the agents had been a good thing.  
"Ready to go?" Leila asked stepping into the den. Mollie looked up at her.   
Leila was wearing a short black skirt and white shirt that stood out against her dark tanned skin. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a clip, stray strands flowing out in certain places.   
Once again Mollie wished she was as beautiful as Leila. She always felt so...inadequate around her. She stood and looked in the large portrait mirror over the couch. Her hair was down and curled in soft ringlet all around her face. She hadn't felt like straightening it after her shower. Besides, Tommy had always preferred it curly. She adjusted her brown button down shirt and wiped the lint from her black pants. Bending down she zipped up her black leather boots. She looked back up to Leila.   
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be."   
Leila walked over and gathered her friend up into a hug. No matter how inadequate Mollie felt around Leila, she still thanked God for her. She truly was her sister, just not by blood.  
Jacksonville Police Headquarters  
Downtown Jacksonville  
9:47 am  
"Well, what do you have?" Scully sighed and looked over the table at Mulder, who sat chewing absently on a sunflower seed.  
"Well it says everything we already know. Tommy was found in the woods behind his house by Mollie. The police didn't find any evidence of foul play, the didn't find any evidence of anything at all actually, which is really weird to say the least." Mulder looked up at her. "The whole crime scene was clean."  
"Did they question Mollie?" Scully asked, once again looking down at the file that held no useful information.   
"Yea, a Detective Murdick did." He said and stood up. He walked over to the door to the conference room they were in and opened it.  
"Excuse me. Can we get a copy of the interrogation with Mollie by Detective Murdick?" He asked a passing policewoman, the same one that had shown them the conference room to read over the files in quiet. The actual office was boisterous, calls and people coming in all the time.  
"Certainly, Agent Mulder, I'll bring it right to you." She said and flipped her long blonde ponytail over her shoulder and walked away.   
Mulder shut the door and sat back down at the table. He opened up the file again and began reading. He probably had it memorized and yet he still read.   
"Mulder do you mind if I leave you hear for awhile. I'm going to go see if I can talk to Mollie again. There's some things I want to find out from her." Scully asked rising from her chair.   
"Sure no problem, but I thought you thought Mollie was innocent." He looked up from the file.  
"I do, I just need to talk to her again." She bit her lips and looked at him.   
"Ok. Oh wait, isn't she at Tommy's service?" He asked  
"Yea, but I know where its at. I'll only be a couple of hours. I'll pick you back up for lunch. Why don't you see if you could talk to Detective Murdick, find out what he thinks." She suggested and walked to the door.   
"Ok." He replied and she opened the door. "Hey Scully..."  
"Yea?" She turned to him.  
"Be careful." He looked back down at the files. She drew her brows together in confusion.   
"Ok." She said and left. He never said "Be careful." Oh well, time to see Mollie and ask about her dream.  
Forest Baptist Church   
9:56 am  
"Oh Mollie, I'm so glad you're here." A tall skinny woman cried as she gathered Mollie up into a hug. Mollie stiffened and backed away from her, eyeing the woman in front of her. Her salt and pepper hair was cut short and neat, flaring around the collar of her expensive looking black business suit. Her makeup was perfectly done except for small smudges of mascara under each eye. Mollie wondered if they were there because of real tears or if she had smudged it to look genuinely sad.  
"Mrs. Kilpatrick." Mollie said her name slowly, in greeting. The woman turned to Leila, who was standing next to Mollie.  
"Hello, I'm Debbie Kilpatrick, Tommy's mother." She extended her hand.  
"Leila Hagan, Mollie's best friend. I'm very sorry about your son." Leila took the offered hand and shook it, grimacing at the coldness.  
"Thank-you. I miss him so much." Mrs. Kilpatrick said, her eyes tearing up a little.   
A plump woman in a purple dress walked over to the three women.  
"Debbie? Are you alright? Why don't you go sit at a pew?" She grabbed Mrs. Kilpatrick on the forearm as if she needed to steady her.  
"Yes, thank you Patti." She smile and patted the woman's arm. "Thank you for coming Leila, Mollie." She turned and let the woman guide her to a seat in the front of the sanctuary.  
"Jeez...can we say 'bad actress'?" Leila remarked watching the two women walk away.   
"I know, she seems so fake." Mollie shook her head slightly, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "It hurts me to know that Tommy had to live with that for so long..." She trailed off and walked down the aisle to a pew in the middle of the sanctuary.  
"Well, at least she wasted no expense in decorating the place." Leila quipped and sat down next to her friend.   
For the first time since arriving, Mollie allowed her eyes to travel around the room. Leila was right. Mrs. Kilpatrick sure had spent enough money making the place beautiful. On every window ledge was a vase of lilies. Black silk ribbons and bows adorned the pews and rose petals were scattered on the aisle floors. The most elaborate "decoration", however, was the huge picture of Tommy at the front of the sanctuary. Mollie sucked in a deep ragged breath and blinked away the tears in her eyes.   
She had taken that picture of Tommy. It had been a night months ago, when he had first told her he loved her. They had been at a bonfire and hayride with his church. They had both been so happy that night. She had brought a disposable camera at the 7-11 earlier that night and had snapped random pictures the whole time. This one in particular was her favorite, though, by far.  
He had been looking over his shoulder at her when she had snapped it. The firelight made his face look even tanner than usual and his eyes were a haunting green color, almost emerald. The wind had blown his hair so that it hung into his eyes. His hand was pushing it away from his face. He looked happy, though no smile graced his lips. It was definitely a beautiful picture, a beautiful picture of a beautiful person.   
She choked back a sob as she realized, again, that she would never see him ever again, except for in pictures and memories.   
"Hey, it's okay. Try not to think, okay." Leila whispered and grabbed her hand and squeezed.  
Suddenly, a hand touched her shoulder. Mollie turned around to see the face of a person she never would have expected to see there.  
Continued in Chapter 7 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7   
  
"John?" Mollie cried and stood up as the new guest opened his arms and pulled her into a big hug.  
  
"What are you doing here? I didn't know you were coming." Mollie whispered into his chest, where her face was buried fighting back the tears forming from his arrival. It was a blessing to have good friends, especially ones like John, who knew her in and out and still cared about her.  
  
"I know. I couldn't not come though. I know you need friends now. Plus school just isn't the same without you, especially Anatomy." He grinned into her hair. He knew that was her favorite class. For as long as he'd known her, she'd always been interested in science and how the human body works.   
  
"How are you holding up?" He asked as he smoothed her hair away from her face.  
  
She looked up at him.  
  
"I'm fine." She whispered and nodded. She could tell he didn't believe her so she kept on. "Really, I'll be okay."  
  
"Uh, Mollie?" Leila asked disturbing the two.   
  
"Yea?" Mollie asked, disengaging herself from Johns embrace and turning to face Leila.  
  
"Who is that?" Leila pointed to a woman who was looking around the church, as if searching for something or someone.  
  
"What is she doing here?" Mollie wondered out loud and walked past Leila. "Agent Scully?" Mollie raised her voice slightly to alert the new comer.  
  
'Ah so that's who she is, the elusive Agent Scully.' Leila thought.  
  
"We'll be right here, Mollie." John called out as Mollie walked over to Agent Scully, obviously not hearing him.  
  
"You've got it bad, John." Leila shook her head and sat down again. Would he ever tell Mollie about his feelings...  
  
He shrugged and sat down next to her.  
  
"She doesn't know that though." He whispered and longingly looked back at Mollie and the pretty FBI agent.   
  
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"What are you doing here?" Mollie asked as she approached Scully, who was walking towards her as well.  
  
"I needed to speak with you." Scully said in a hushed whisper when she came close enough to Mollie to be heard.  
  
"So you came here? To the memorial service? You couldn't have waited to ask me questions until after?" Mollie questioned, her eyes widening in confusion. This was definitely not the time or place to question her about Tommy's death!  
  
"I don't need to ask you questions, well not about the case at least." Scully explained and sat down on the pew nearest her.   
  
"Well, then what?" Mollie asked, staying where she was instead of sitting down like Scully.  
  
Scully looked down and gathered her thoughts. 'What can I say' she thought 'I had an experience?' Oh yea that'll work. Whatever....just get to the point. Straight and clear. She took a deep breath and looked up to meet Mollies wondering eyes.   
  
"I had a dream." There was that so bad? Wasn't to hard.  
  
"You what?!?" Mollies voice rose slightly. A few people around them turned sharply and pinned her with agitated glares. She blushed slightly and fell onto the pew next to Scully.   
  
"What do you mean you had a dream? You mean like me? Those dreams?" She whispered.   
  
"What happened?" She asked after Scully nodded.  
  
Scully related her dream to Mollie. She told how the redhead had come to her and had told her to leave and how she exuded bitterness and felt evil. Also, she told her that the dark haired woman had protected her and made the other leave and had told her their names. Mollie was gaping at her when she finished.  
  
"What do you think it means?" Mollie asked.  
  
"I don't know. I was hoping you could help me with that." Scully said.  
  
"Me? I don't know. This has never happened before. I mean Leila has never had a dream like mine, at least she's never said she has." Mollie crinkled her forehead, deep in thought. "Maybe you just dreamt that because I told you about my dreams. Maybe it was kind of like a suggestion thing. You know, me saying something and your brain making something out of it. That's logical right?" Mollie asked, a hint of worry lacing her words.  
  
Scully stared at her for a moment then let out a short bark of laughter.  
  
"What?" Mollie asked, bewildered.  
  
"You. You sound like me. I told myself the exact same thing after I had the dream but I think, I don't know, I think it was real. I can't shake this feeling. It's weird, I think maybe I'm..." She trailed off, not finding the right word.  
  
"Linked?" Mollie offered, staring at Scully.  
  
"Yea, something like that. Like I was supposed to help, I was supposed to be here." How crazy was she sounding? Wouldn't Mulder be proud...either that or he'd have her committed. Why was she so willing to believe this?  
  
"Well you did say you would help."  
  
That's why she was willing to believe, Mollie. She wanted, no she needed to help her. She didn't know why, just a feeling that she had and couldn't shake. If she didn't help, something bad would happen, she was sure of that.  
  
"I meant it. We'll find a way to stop them."  
  
Mollie didn't exactly know which "them" she was talking about, the dreams or the dream visitors, but she believed her.   
  
"Thank-you all for coming." A voice boomed from the front of the sanctuary. The service was starting and the preacher had begun speaking. Mollie stood and headed back to her seat where Leila and John sat. She looked back and saw Scully stand and move in the opposite direction.  
  
"Hey, stay, come sit with us. We'll talk after." Mollie whispered back at her.  
  
Wordlessly, Scully followed, taking her seat by Mollie and listening to the speakers fond words of Tommy. She looked around at all the people. It seemed that Tommy had been loved whether he realized it or not. She absently wondered how people would react at her memorial service, or if there would be anyone there at all, except Mulder. Always Mulder.   
  
Jacksonville Police Headquarters  
  
Downtown Jacksonville  
  
10:30 am  
  
An older, stocky man, with thinning gray hair, wearing a dark blue suit, walked into the conference room.   
  
"Agent Mulder? I'm Detective Raymond Murdick. Cindy said you wanted to talk to me about the Kilpatrick case." He held out his hand for Mulder to shake.   
  
Mulder stood and greeted him.   
  
"Thank you for taking the time Detective Murdick."  
  
"Ray...call me Ray. Everyone else does. No sense in being formal."   
  
Mulder let out a huff of laughter and sat down at the large wooden table. The older man took off his suit jacket, revealing a blue hexagonal tie and bright red suspenders. Mulder couldn't help but smile at the suspenders. It had been a long time since he had seen a pair of those. The Detective noticed and hooked his fingers behind them and let go creating a loud snapping sound, a huge grin taking over his face.  
  
"Snazzy huh?" He chuckled and sat down. "The wife makes me wear 'em. Says they'll hold my pants up since my guts too big."   
  
Mulder grinned. He might actually like this guy, which was unusual since he didn't ever really like any law enforcement people he had to work with.   
  
"So anyway, what you wanna know about that case?"  
  
"Tell me everything. Anything you can remember. What did you find in the woods?"   
  
"Not a damn thing. Didn't find nothin'. The girl, Mollie, called 911 to report the death and we went out there. Couldn't find nothing. Crazy but it looks like the kid was just walkin' 'round his property and up and died. Weirdest thing I ever did see. Looked like he melted. 'Cause of the lack of evidence, everyone assumes he commited suicide. I don't like to assume things though. You know what they say when you assume things, right?" He grinned.  
  
"No, I don't think I do." Mulder shook his head.  
  
"Well, it makes an ass out of u and me. Get it? A-S-S out of U and M-E." The detective chortled.  
  
"I've never heard that. I'll have to remember that to tell Scully." Mulder chuckled.  
  
"Scully?" Ray wondered.  
  
"Oh, Agent Scully. She's my partner. Actually, she just left a few..." Mulder looked down at his watch. "...thirty minutes ago."  
  
"I see. You got a woman partner?" The older man said, looking Mulder in the eye. Oh no...not another one of those old-fashioned "Women shouldn't be in law enforcment" men. Mulder had actually started to like him. Please don't let him be so backwards.  
  
"Yes." Mulder answered slowly.  
  
"She pretty?" Ray smiled.  
  
"Not that that has anything to do with anything, but yes she's pretty." Yea, pretty sexy that is. "Why?"  
  
"I'd hate to have a woman partner. Not that I have anything against them being in the law enforcement positions. No way. I'm glad they are. Bring some sympathy, compassion, to it, if you ask me. I just couldn't have one."  
  
"Why's that?" Mulder asked, glad the detective wasn't a sexist type of guy.   
  
"Couldn't control myself." He gave a hearty laugh. "Partners get closer than most married people. I'd hate to have that temptation. I admire people that do though."  
  
Mulder smiled slightly and nodded. He knew all about temptation.   
  
"Anyway, sorry, I got you off track. What else you wanna know bout the case." The detective sobered.  
  
"Oh. What do you think happened?"  
  
"Hell of I know. Like I said, it was the weirdest thing I ever saw." The detective looked down at his hands resting on the table. "If you wanna know my honest opinion, though, it would be that I don't think the kid offed himself."  
  
"Well what do you think?"  
  
The detective looked back up at Mulder.  
  
"I think the kid was murdered, pure and simple."   
  
Continued in Chapter 8 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8   
  
Jacksonville Police Headquarters  
  
Downtown Jacksonville  
  
10:56 am  
  
"I think the kid was murdered, pure and simple."  
  
"Why do you think that?" Mulder asked, his interest piqued.  
  
"I dunno...just a feeling I got." Ray shrugged.  
  
"What do you mean? What kind of feeling?"  
  
"You're not going to believe me." Ray huffed a small laugh.  
  
"Try me." Mulder countered and Ray paused.  
  
"Well, when we were in the woods, I felt, it felt weird out there. Like someone else was there."  
  
He took a deep breath before continuing.  
  
"I dunno how to explain. You know the feeling you get like you're being watched."   
  
Mulder nodded.  
  
"That's what it was like. I left the other officers there and looked around the woods but didn't see anybody watching so I just chalked it up to an overactive imagination."  
  
"But you still believe Tommy was murdered. Why, if it was just your imagination?"   
  
"Because, ever since then I can't shake that feeling. It's always like someone's watching me from someplace I can't see. Almost like I'm being stalked. Crazy huh?"   
  
Mulder looked at the detective and raised his eyebrows. Ray definitely wasn't crazy, because Mulder wasn't crazy, technically, and he had been feeling the same way for the past two weeks, ever since he walked in to his office and saw the case file lying on his cluttered desk. He shook his head.  
  
"No, Ray. I don't think that's crazy. Thank you for talking with me about this." Mulder reached into his pocket and pulled out a crisp business card and handed it to Ray.   
  
"Call my cell, it's the number at the bottom, if you remember anything else you want to tell me." The detective nodded and shoved the card in his pants pocket.  
  
"I'll do that, Agent Mulder." He stood and tugged his jacket back on. "I sure hope you have more luck on that case than we did. If you need any backup or help here, you know who to call."  
  
"Sure do. Have a nice day."  
  
"Mmmhmm...you too." The detective smiled and exited the room.   
  
Mulder sighed and looked at his watch. He wanted to share what the detective told him, with Scully. How long was she going to be gone? As if in answer his cell phone rang. What an annoying, shrill ring.   
  
Mental note to self: Change ring to something different.  
  
"Mulder." He greeted, knowing already who it was.  
  
"Mulder, it's me." Came the familiar reply, as familiar as her voice.  
  
"Hey me! What's up?" He grinned into the phone, thinking back, for the thousandth time, to their early morning kiss. "You coming to get me now?"   
  
"That's why I'm calling. I'm not going to be able to pick you up. I'm taking Mollie out to lunch to talk with her. You think you can find something around there to eat?" Scully asked.   
  
Mulder couldn't hide his disappointment. He had really wanted to have lunch with Scully. He loved watching her eat, all though she could never know that. But now, she was blowing him off for Mollie? What was that about? Something was definitely going on with Scully that he wasn't privy to. He'd find out tonight...he'd make sure of it.  
  
"Yea, sure. I'll be fine. I'm not even that hungry." He lied. "Are you still going to pick up the medical records from the hospital?" He queried.  
  
"Uh...yea...hold on."   
  
He heard a shuffle as Scully put her hand over the telephone speaker. Muffled voices filtered in through the phone. Where was she and who was she with?  
  
"Ok, I'm back, sorry. Anyway, yea, I'll swing by and pick them up after lunch and then I'll just meet you back at the hotel. We can do dinner." She sighed. She was trying to make peace by offering dinner.   
  
"Yea that's fine. I'll see you then."   
  
He heard the phone disconnect as she hung up and absently wondered why they never said goodbye. That was odd, right? His stomach, suddenly, grumbled loudly, breaking his train of thought. Yea, ok...time to find some food. Something more substantial than the bag of sunflower seeds spilling onto the table. He grabbed a handful and blanched when they fell onto the floor. He sighed. This was going to be a long day.  
  
Rich's Bar-B-Que  
  
11:15 am  
  
The restaurant was quiet and pretty much empty, the lunch rush not yet begun and the breakfast crowd all but gone. Mollie looked around at the other patrons besides herself and Scully. Two older men sat quietly at one table, both entranced by different sections of the newspaper, their coffee cooling in the chilled air of the room. A young family at another table, a man, a woman, and a small baby in its carrier, sitting on the bench seat sucking intently on its fist. Then she and Scully, the only other people, both dressed in dark clothes staring at menus.  
  
Mollie thought back to the memorial service. Tommy wouldn't have liked it one bit! The pastor that his mother had chosen to speak hadn't known Tommy at all. Then when Tommy's mother had gotten up to speak and practically fainted from hyperventilating, Mollie had wanted to throw up. How could no one see how fake the woman was? Well at least everyone but her, Leila, and John. Leila and John. She knew they both resented the fact that she had blown their offers of lunch off to go with Scully but she had explained as best as she could that she needed to speak with her. Mollie believed Leila understood. If Mollie could find a way to stop the dreams, Leila would understand.   
  
She looked up at Scully who was staring at the little baby, deep in thought.  
  
"Agent Scully?" Mollie asked.  
  
"Huh? Yes. I'm sorry, I was just thinking." Scully sighed and looked away, back at the menu.   
  
Weird. What was that all about?   
  
"About?" Mollie prompted.   
  
"Nothing." Scully tried to smile. "It's nothing." Scully licked her lips, chasing away the dryness that threatened to chap them.   
  
"Whatever." Mollie didn't believe her for a second. She was a good reader of people and she knew Scully wasn't going to share no matter how much Mollie prodded her.  
  
"Agent Scully." She continued.  
  
"Dana please...or Scully if you want, just drop the Agent." Scully smiled.  
  
"Dana..." Mollie wrinkled her nose. "I've never called an adult by their first name, it's a little weird feeling, so how about Scully?"  
  
"That's fine." She assured her.  
  
"Scully, you said that the two woman told you their names. What were they?"   
  
Ah, good, back to the dream.   
  
"Uh, the redhead was Kiara, I think and the brunette was Morgayne." Scully replied.  
  
"Kiara and Morgayne." Mollie let the words roll over her tongue.  
  
"Yea, do they mean anything to you?"   
  
Mollie thought for a moment. Kiara and Morgayne, Morgayne and Kiara.  
  
"No." She said after a few moments. "I don't think so. I don't think I've ever heard them."  
  
"Oh." Scully sighed and set her menu down.   
  
The waitress came and took their orders. Scully, after much deliberation, decided on the smoke turkey sandwich and a large sweet tea, which Mollie swore "Is the best!" Mollie ordered a grilled cheese and a large sweet tea, as well. They were silent until their food came and the waitress left. No sense in bringing someone else into the conversation.   
  
"So, why do you think you're having dreams like me now?" Mollie asked, blowing on her sandwich to cool it.   
  
"I don't know. Besides it was only one dream. Who knows if it will happen again, if I'll have another one?" Scully sipped her sweet tea, which surprisingly was the best.   
  
"Well, all I know is that you got more information from that one dream than I have in the past eight years in mine." She paused and set her sandwich down, suddenly not very hungry.   
  
"You've got to try to have another one. You've got to try to see what they want. Maybe Morgayne wants your help to stop Kiara from killing my family or friends, or what's left of them." She looked up again. "Please try." God, she sounded so pitiful. She hated sounding pitiful!  
  
"Mollie, you can't try to have dreams, you know that. They come on their own. But I'll try and do whatever I can. I'll talk to Agent Mulder tonight and see what he thinks. If there's anyone who can help, its him. He's the expert." Scully grabbed her hand and squeezed reassuringly before letting go.   
  
"Well I'm glad, because you guys could be my last hope."   
  
The silence that fell over them was palpable. During that time, Scully could have sworn she felt someone watching her, but looking around the room, saw no one except the lone waitress and cook talking at the front of the restaurant. She dismissed it and went back to eating her sandwich.   
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
A cloaked figure turned back towards the shadows in the back of the hideous restaurant. How could people eat what they ate and drink what they drank now-a-days? The smells alone were enough to make her wish that she didn't have to participate in this.   
  
She sighed. Morgayne looked back at the two eating in silence. Dana Scully was slowly beginning to believe, a feat in and of itself unimaginable. Morgayne was quite proud of herself. Now she just needed to let Dana see, to see what needed to be seen, what needed to be found out. She must first know the past to be able to help in the present and to prevent the future. The cloaked figure smiled, raised her hood around her head and disappeared into the fog surrounding her.  
  
Continued in Chapter 9 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9  
  
1131 Elmhurst Road  
  
1:30 pm   
  
Mollie looked around the darkened living room, unnerved at the silence that permeated the stillness. She had forgotten how quiet the house really was when she was alone. Maybe she should call Leila and see if she wanted to spend the night. No, wait, tomorrow was Friday and Leila couldn't spend the night on school nights, even though she was eighteen.   
  
Oh well, the silence would just have to be ok. She'd just have to deal with it. It shouldn't scare her anyway. Silence had never done anything to hurt her, just things that come in silence. She took off her jacket and tossed it on the couch then headed to her room. She turned on her stereo and was greeted by the heavy drums and guitars of "Nickleback." That was more like it. No more silence.   
  
She set her purse on her desk and reached in and fished out the business card that Scully had given her, telling her to call if she needed her and that she would be at the Omni all night. She set it next to the phone where it could be seen easily.   
  
A yawn rose out of her and she covered her mouth. She was so tired; exhausted from everything that had happened. Maybe she should take a nap. She turned off the radio and switched the stereo to the CD function. The quiet smooth strains of Irish music floated out through the speakers and she sighed.   
  
Another yawn overtook her. She had never been so tired in her life. Foregoing changing into sleepwear, she fell onto the plush bed and threw the covers up over her. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light.  
  
St. Vincent's Hospital  
  
2:45  
  
Scully threw the medical records into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut. She raised her hands to her head and began to massage her temples in full circles, alternating between light and hard pressure.  
  
Hospital workers could be so stubborn, especially the records people. The man that she had spoken with had really aggravated her. Not only had he given her a hassle about the records, but also he had said some rude and immature comments about her being with the F.B.I.   
  
"A pretty little lady like you shouldn't be in the F.B.I. You should be working at home with the kids." Mr. Congeniality had leered.  
  
Whatever! Some people were just jerks and stuck in their ways. Of course, Scully had kept her cool and not let it show how much it bothered her, as usual. She had stood her ground and finally he had given up and released the records of Mollie's dead relatives.  
  
Now she needed to calm down, otherwise she was going to take out her gun and shoot something, preferably a certain records worker.   
  
Scully took a deep breath and stilled when she heard someone else breathe behind her. She whipped her head around and surveyed the back seat. No one was there. What was going on? It felt as if everywhere she went anymore, someone was watching her. Maybe she needed more sleep, even though last night, when she had slept in Mulder's arms, had been one of the best nights sleep she'd had in a long time. She smiled at the memory and turned the ignition in the car.   
  
She left the parking lot and merged into traffic, looking in her rearview mirror for cars. Another woman's reflection stared back at her from the backseat, her hair covered by a hooded cloak and her green eyes glowing. Scully gasped and looked over her shoulder into the backseat. Seeing no one she looked back into the mirror. The woman was gone. Maybe she had never been there at all.  
  
Scully blinked, shook her head, and dazedly drove back to the hotel, all the while trying to shake the feeling of not being alone.  
  
The Omni  
  
3:00 p.m.  
  
The police car pulled up to the entrance of the hotel.   
  
"Thanks for the ride, Buck." Mulder grinned and shook hands with the man who he had met earlier in the day.   
  
Buck was about 50 years old. He had salt and pepper colored hair. More salt than pepper, though. He was a police officer that worked in the downtown office. Mulder had talked to him when everyone else had gone out. Buck had been roped into watching the office while the rest of the staff had gone to a lunch party for someone's birthday. Mulder had mentioned sometime in the conversation that he needed a ride back to the hotel and Buck had offered to drive him.   
  
"No problem, Mulder. You have a good night. I hope that case goes well." Buck reached out to shake him hand.   
  
Mulder stepped out of the car and waved goodbye to Buck as he drove away. The bellhop opened the glass lobby door for him and tipped his hat. Once again, Mulder was amazed at just how truly fancy hotels could be. As he approached the elevators, he spotted Scully waiting for one.  
  
He walked over to her.   
  
She looked weary. Her shoulders slumped and her head bowed. In her hand she held several files. Must be the medical records.   
  
"Hey." Mulder said, placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezing gently.   
  
"Hey." Scully looked up at him. She looked so tired.   
  
The elevator dinged, signaling its arrival. Mulder and Scully stepped inside and the doors closed, allowing no other passengers to board.   
  
"You okay?" He asked, expecting to hear the proverbial response, "I'm fine," but was caught off guard when she shook her head no. She really was tired.  
  
"What's wrong?"   
  
"It's nothing. It's just been a really long day."   
  
The elevator dinged again and opened on their floor. The stepped out and he guided her to their rooms.   
  
"Scully, what's the matter? You're shaking." He asked, feeling her back tremble where his hand rested.   
  
She raised her eyes to meet his questioning gaze.   
  
"I don't know, Mulder." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.   
  
Opening them, she slid the card key in the slot in the door and opened the door. She turned to him.  
  
"Come on in, Mulder." She said and held the door open for him.   
  
"Scully are you propositioning me?" He tried to lighten the mood.   
  
She smiled half-heartedly and replied. "Of course not Mulder. Why would I do that?"   
  
"Because I'm just so darn sexy and you can't keep your mind off me." He quipped and walked in, allowing her to close the door.   
  
"Sure, okay." She kicked off her shoes and sat on the bed.   
  
"Seriously, Scully. What's wrong?" He asked sitting down in the chair at the table.   
  
"Mulder, something really strange is happening. I don't know how or why, but, well, I don't know." She shook her head and closed her eyes. She wasn't terribly tired. She was troubled, Mulder realized.  
  
Mulder opened his mouth to ask her again what was wrong but she continued on, without looking back up at him, without opening her eyes.  
  
"You know how you're always telling her to keep an open mind? Well, I'm trying to right now. Mulder..." She opened her eyes. "I had a dream. It had the women from Mollie's dreams in it."  
  
Mulder was beyond shocked. Of everything he had been expecting her to say, this was the farthest from it. She never told him when something like this happened.   
  
"That's not all." She hesitated. "I've seen things. A woman, one from my dream."   
  
"What do you mean?"   
  
"I saw her in my rearview mirror when I was driving back here. I though I had seen her at the restaurant but when I looked over to where I thought she was, she wasn't there. But now, it's like, wherever I go, I feel her watching me." She drew her brows together. "It scares me, Mulder."   
  
Mulder jumped out of his chair and sat next to her on the bed. He gathered her into his arms and kissed her hair. She never admitted her fear.   
  
"Don't be afraid Scully, we'll find out what's going on. Why don't you take a nap?" He suggested.  
  
"Okay." She lay down on the bed on top of the comforter and snuggled into the pillow.   
  
Mulder gently reached over and smoothed her hair down before standing. "Mulder?" Scully mumbled and reached out her hand.   
  
Mulder took her hand and leaned over to press his lips to her knuckles. "Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" She blinked slowly. "I don't want to be alone."   
  
Mulder smiled and climbed into bed next to her. He pulled her to him and she rested her head on his shoulder.   
  
"Thanks." She yawned.   
  
He gently rubbed her arm that was resting on his chest, and listened to her breathing slow.   
  
"Shhh...pumpkin. Its' okay. It was just a bad dream."  
  
Mollie whimpered and looked up at her mother.   
  
"Do you want me to sleep with you?" Her mother asked as she ran her hands through Mollie's hair, soothing her.   
  
Mollie sniffed and nodded her little head. She scooted over to give her mother room to lie down.   
  
"Mommy? Can you tell me a story?"   
  
"Sure, pumpkin. Just close your eyes, okay."  
  
"K" Mollie sniffed again and snuggled into her mother's side closing her eyes.   
  
"Okay. Your eyes closed?" Mollie nodded. All right, here we go. A long time ago there lived a little girl. She was a beautiful young girl with long curly black hair and sparkling green eyes."  
  
"What was her name?" Mollie yawned and scooted closer to her mother, her hand coming up to rub her mothers ear, a habit she had of calming herself.   
  
"Her name was Morgayne. She was a princess. Her daddy was the king and he was a great warrior. The people all called him "The Dragon" but he wasn't a mean man. Morgayne also had a brother who would be the new king whenever the daddy went away forever. One day they found out that their daddy had gone away and wouldn't be coming back."   
  
"Did he die?" Mollie whispered.   
  
"Yes sweetie, but he went to a better place. Anyway, Morgayne and her brother found out that they had a sister, who lived in a different country. One day the sister came to visit. She felt like an outsider and felt like she deserved to be a princess. When Morgayne told her no, that she didn't have the right to be a princess, the sister turned evil and put a curse on Morgayne and her children. Morgayne's brother was so mad at her for this that, when he became king, he sent her away and she was forbidden to ever return to where Morgayne lived."  
  
"Did Morgayne live happily ever after, Mommy?"   
  
"Of course she did. As a matter of fact, she still lives."  
  
Mollie looked up at her mother and screamed as she saw it wasn't her mother lying with her anymore, but the evil woman, Kiara, from her dreams!  
  
Mollie bolted awake. The room had darkened considerably since she had first lay down to nap. She looked over at the clock.  
  
6:43 p.m.   
  
A 6 hour nap and with a dream like that! She sighed and grabbed her car keys. The Omni was only 15 minutes away. Maybe Scully would be there so she could tell her about her dream...or was it a memory?  
  
She yawned and rolled over onto her back. Raising her arms up over her head, she stretched her back and popped the kinks out of her neck.  
  
"Daaaannnnnaaa," a voice whispered, or was it the wind.  
  
Wait, wind? Why was there wind inside the hotel room?  
  
Scully's eyes flew open. She wasn't in the hotel room anymore. There wasn't a bed in sight, or Mulder. Where was she? It certainly wasn't Florida!   
  
The grass beneath her body was damp and the air around her chilled her neck and hands, everywhere the dress didn't cover. That's when she noticed the dress. It was a beautiful deep purple velvet gown that draped elegantly around her delicate curves. Long slitted flared sleeves fell towards her wrists. The ends of the sleeves and the boxed neckline were adorned with gold thread. The wind caught the dress and it billowed gently as she stood up. Her hair whipped around her face and she pushed the locks behind her ears, noticing that the length now fell past her waist.   
  
This was definitely getting weirder and weirder.   
  
She looked up from her bare feet and surveyed her surroundings. She was on a cliff. Slowly, she walked towards the edge. The ocean below crashed into the rocky outcroppings, foam flying up almost to where she stood. She was so far up and it was a long straight fall down to the torrid sea. Is she were to fall....  
  
"Daaannnnaaaa."   
  
Scully turned around sharply, so fast that she almost fell over the side of the cliff. She gasped and stepped away from the edge quickly.   
  
"Who's there?" Scully screamed into the air. "Who are you?"   
  
The dark-haired beauty from her earlier dream appeared in front of her.   
  
"Dana." She said, barely louder than a whisper.   
  
"Morgayne, right? Your name is Morgayne?" Scully strained.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What do you want from me?"  
  
"As I said before, your help. I need your help." She stated simply.  
  
"My help." Scully scoffed. "You need my help. How am I supposed to help you? You're not real! You're only part of a dream. Like this, this is a dream, right?"   
  
"Not exactly." Morgayne offered a Mona Lisa smile.   
  
"Then what is this? If this isn't a dream, what is it?" Scully was starting to feel unnerved, curious as to what was happening.  
  
"Let's just call it a history lesson." Morgayne replied, her lips returning to the mysterious smile.  
  
"A history lesson. Why am I going to be learning history?" Scully asked.  
  
"So you can help me, help Mollie, help yourself. You have to know the past. You see, to solve the puzzles of the present, you must first unlock the mysteries of the ages." Morgayne turned and walked away.  
  
"Follow." The breeze whispered to her and pushed her to trail after Morgayne, who was getting ever more and more mysterious as this continued.   
  
Mist began to fall around Scully and fog seeped in on both the women. The fog seemed to have a life of its own, creeping up to them before retreating, as they made their way inland. A dense forest lay before them and Scully had a brief fit of panic and the other woman began to trek into it. Maybe she shouldn't follow her. Maybe this was a stupid thing to do. Morgayne turned to her and smiled. Instantly Scully felt better. She was still a little iffy on everything, but not as anxious anymore. After all Morgayne wasn't the evil woman from Mollie's dreams, was she?   
  
For the better part of an hour, Scully silently trailed behind Morgayne. Suddenly, the woman stopped and Scully stepped up to her side. A large peaceful lake lay in front of them. The fog passed by them and blanketed the lake, almost seeming to sigh and it rested there. The water was a mirror surface, reflecting the fog and giving it an almost ghostlike quality.   
  
Morgayne raised her arm and lifted one finger, bringing it back to curl into her hand in a "come here" gesture. A small wooden boat floated out of the fog towards the shore, bobbing gently on the glassy surface.   
  
"Come." Morgayne said turning toward Scully and stepping into the boat, holding her dark blue dress up so as not to get it wet.   
  
Scully mimicked her movements and climbed into the boat. She sat down on the small bench seat. The boat began drifting back into the dense fog. Morgayne stood at the bow her hands at her sides. She was looking forward so Scully could only see her back. Scully was truly curious as to what was going on. This was most certainly a dream. It had to be.   
  
She distinctly remembered falling asleep in Mulder's arms. This felt so real though. It almost felt as if she had fallen asleep and been transported somewhere else before she awoke. If that were true, Mulder would be frantic. No, she decided, this was definitely a dream.  
  
The boat drifted to a stop. Morgayne turned to her and caught her eyes.  
  
"Watch." She turned to the fog and nodded her head.  
  
The mist receded in a complete circle around the boat, the air around them clear and perfect for five feet until it reached a white wall of dense fog. Scully looked back up to Morgayne. Morgayne pointed towards the fog wall to the left and Scully turned to it.   
  
The fog brightened as if lightning had hit it. It looked like cotton with a bright white light shining behind it. Suddenly a picture of the cliffs of Ireland appeared. Quickly it zoomed in and Scully felt like she was on a 3D ride, like she was flying. She soared over the lush green grasses and gently rolling hills. The scenery flew by so fast she felt she might get sick.   
  
The movement stopped quickly and she was in front of a small cottage.   
  
The door opened and she went inside. A woman lay on he floor next to the fire. She was sweating and looked extremely tired, breathing heavily.  
  
An older woman walked in carrying a small bundle in her arms.   
  
"Miss?" The older woman announced her presence to the other.   
  
The woman laying on the floor looked up at her and smiled. She reached up her arms to the bundle. "Just set her here beside me." The woman said in a thick accent that Scully couldn't identify.   
  
The older woman placed the bundle in the woman's arms. She smiled, revealing a row of filthy brown, decaying teeth. She must be a servant, Scully realized.   
  
"She is a beauty, miss." She turned and left the small room.   
  
The woman looked down at the bundle. Scully peered over the woman's shoulder to see more clearly. A newborn baby lay in the beige cloths, her dark curly hair peeking out from under the swaddling. The baby yawned and blinked her eyes tiredly.  
  
"Ah, go to sleep my sweet daughter. Go to sleep sweet Morgayne." The woman cooed and faded away as Scully gasped in realization of what she was seeing.   
  
Scully was flying again. Back over the hills and lakes. She stopped at a large castle. A young girl with curly black hair and a younger boy with brown hair and brown eyes sat next to a large tree. The boy was crying and clinging to the girl.   
  
"Don't leave me Morgayne!" He cried and buried his face in her arms.  
  
"It's okay, brother. Mother and the Dragon will be here to take care of you."   
  
The boy was not comforted and cried harder.   
  
"Ssshhh...I'll never be far away. I love you but I must go, you know that. Auntie needs me with her and mother needs you here to be a strong boy for her since the Dragon is fighting. Please don't cry."  
  
The boy sniffed and wiped his eyes. He set his chin in defiance and tried to look strong. It would almost have been comical if it wasn't such a sad moment.   
  
"Okay."   
  
"Very good. Now tell me you love me and I will leave so you can go help mother." Morgayne tried to smile.  
  
"I love you." The boy said, one last tear escaping the prison of his eye.   
  
Again Scully was flying, only this time the scenery changed to a small village. Scully stopped at a very small rundown shack. A baby's shrill cry broke the silence. Scully entered the shack.  
  
"Is she ok?" A man's voice boomed.  
  
"The baby?" An old woman asked, twisting her apron in her hands that were covered in blood.  
  
"No, Kiana, is she okay?" The man yelled.  
  
"No, sir, she isn't. Kiana is dead." She replied her head bowed.  
  
The man's shoulders slumped.  
  
"The child was too much for her. She was too weak to survive the birth."  
  
"I see." He sat down.  
  
"She wanted the child to be named Kiara. Do you want to see her?" The woman asked raising her head.   
  
"No, I don't want to see her. No one shall see her, you understand?" The man stood up and yelled.  
  
"No one is to know about this, no one. If you tell anyone..." He trailed off but his threat was obvious.   
  
The woman trembled. "You need to bury Kiana." He continued. "I'll provide the necessary payment."  
  
He turned to leave.   
  
"Sir, wait." The woman called out.  
  
The man turned to her.  
  
"What shall I do with the child? Now that her mother is dead, will you take her?" She twisted her hands again.  
  
"No. I can't. If anyone was to know that she is my child, I'd be ruined. I cannot be linked to a prostitute." The man looked deep in thought for a moment.  
  
"Kiana once mentioned a sister that lives in Ireland. Her name is Geneveive. Send Kiara to her, she will take her." He commanded.  
  
"The sorceress?" The woman gasped, her eyes widening.  
  
"Yes, that's her. Kiara belongs to her now." The man stormed out before the woman could comment again.   
  
The fog faded and Scully closed her eyes.  
  
Continued in Chapter 10   
  
  
  
Authors Notes: Thanks for all the wonderful feedback. I'm so happy you are enjoying it. Sorry this was such a long chapter ;)  
  
~Mana 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10   
  
Omni Hotel  
  
March 14  
  
7:22 p.m.  
  
Mulder awoke to a loud banging on the hotel door. He looked down at his sleeping partner, curled at his side, and smiled. She could sleep anywhere, anytime, no matter what was going on around her.   
  
His musings were interrupted by another series of loud knocking from the door again. Who would be knocking on Scully's hotel room door? He gently rolled her over onto her back and pulled his arm out from under her shoulders. She whimpered softly and curled up onto her other side. Begrudgingly, Mulder glared at the door and went to open it. He looked through the peep hole and saw the person knocking was Mollie.   
  
"Mollie?" Mulder asked opening the door.   
  
"Agent Mulder? I'm so sorry. The front desk told me this was Agent Scully's room." Mollie stammered, surprised to see Mulder.   
  
"Oh it is. Scully is taking a nap."   
  
"Oh, okay. Umm...why are you in her room?" Mollie asked peering over Mulder's shoulder at the sleeping Scully.   
  
"Why are you here, Mollie?" Mulder asked avoiding her question.   
  
"I just needed to talk to Agent Scully," she paused. "About some stuff, that's all." Mollie answered, looking down at her hands.   
  
"About your dreams?"   
  
Mollie looked up at him, a wordless "yes" shining like tears in her eyes. Mulder felt his heart go out the young girl.   
  
"What is it? Did you have another one?" Mulder asked, leaning his tall frame against the door jamb.   
  
"Do you think I can come in? I don't really feel like talking about this out here in the hall." Mollie asked, gesturing to the room Mulder was blocking.   
  
"Oh yea, sure. Come on in. Let me just wake Scully up." He said turning and heading to the bed.   
  
Mollie began to protest against waking Scully. Good sleep was a precious thing, one that she was forced to live without. She thought better of it though, knowing she really needed to talk to Scully. Mulder leaned over the bed and shook Scully's shoulder gently.  
  
"Scully wake up."  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"What was that?" Scully asked, her eyes still closed.   
  
"You know what it was." Morgayne replied.  
  
"History?" Scully asked, never looking up.   
  
"Right. That was the beginning. Would you like to see the middle?" Morgayne asked, her voice softening.   
  
Scully looked up at her with curious eyes.  
  
"There's more?"   
  
"Oh there's much more."   
  
"I want to see. I want to see it all." Scully replied and turned to face the wall of fog once more.   
  
"Scully, wake up!" She dimly heard Mulder cry out from somewhere above.  
  
"Give me a few minutes, Mulder." She thought to herself, hoping Mulder could sense her thoughts.  
  
Her reverie was broken as the wall of fog in front of her brightened.  
  
Once again, Scully prepared herself for another flight through time.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Scully?" Mulder shook her harder. He knew she was a hard sleeper, but this was ridiculous. He's been shaking her continuously and she had yet to awaken. Worry was starting to seep into his veins.  
  
"Come on, Scully, wake up!" He raised his voice.   
  
"Agent Mulder? What's going on? Why isn't she waking up?" Mollie asked from somewhere behind him, her voice tinged with anxiety.   
  
"I don't know. Mollie call 911." Mulder said still shaking Scully, but not as violently as he was shaking himself.   
  
St. Vincent's Hospital.  
  
9:15 p.m.  
  
Mulder sat numbly, his head resting in his hands, in the hospital waiting room. Mollie sat beside him, staring blankly at the wall in front of them. They had been sitting here for over an hour and still had no news on what was happening to Scully.  
  
What had happened? She had just been sleeping, right? Why hadn't she woken up when he had tried to rouse her? There had to be something he was missing. People just didn't go to sleep and not wake up. Well, at least, they don't if they are healthy.   
  
Oh God, the cancer! Was it back? No, Scully would have told him if it was, wouldn't she? Wait, what if she didn't know? What if this was somehow connected to Mollie? Could it be that Scully's cancer had come back because of Mollie and her dreams?   
  
He stopped thinking when he heard someone scuffle into the room.   
  
Looking up, he spied an older man with gray hair, although not much of it.   
  
"Agent Mulder?" The man asked, surveying the nearly empty room. If Mulder had felt like smiling he would have at the way the man said his name. It sounded like Muldah. Must be from New York. Mulder stood up and nodded.   
  
The man walked over to him and extended his hand. Mulder took it and shook it.   
  
"I'm Doctor Simpson. I'm in the one in charge of Dana." He smiled, grimly.   
  
Mulder nodded, not knowing what to say. He felt Mollie stand up beside him.  
  
"Is she okay, Doctor?" Mollie asked, her voice breaking.   
  
"Who are you?" The doctor turned his attention to Mollie. "Are you family?"   
  
Mulder knew right then, as Dr. Simpson asked that, that this was serious. That he would only speak to family. Well, then, he was going to speak to "family." Mulder was sick of being kept in the dark with Scully's condition just because he wasn't technically her family.   
  
"Yes, she's Dana's daughter. I'm Dana's husband." Mulder replied before Mollie could say anything. Scully was going to kick his butt, but good when she found out about this. Right now, thought, Mulder didn't care as long as she lived to do it.   
  
The doctor looked Mollie over trying to gauge her age. Dana must have been quite young when she gave birth to her.   
  
"All right then. I'd like to speak to you both in private. Why don't we all go to my office?" Dr. Simpson turned and walked out of the room, Mulder and Mollie in tow.   
  
The three made their way down the long hall and turned to the right, into another hallway, only this one not as sterile looking. It must be the doctors offices in this wing, because there was carpet on the floors and didn't smell of medicine. Dr. Simpson stopped at a large wooden door and opened it. Holding the door open, he gestured for Mulder and Mollie to come in.   
  
"Please, sit down." He said, holding his hand out towards the two leather chairs in front of his desk.   
  
After the three were seated, Mulder spoke up.   
  
"Doctor, what's going on?"  
  
"Well, Agent Mulder, frankly I don't have a clue. Dana is in a coma." Dr. Simpson said, not beating around the bush. He drew his lips into a thin line.  
  
"A coma?" Mollie gasped, her eyes widening.   
  
"Yes. The thing is, I have no idea how or why. You said Dana just went to sleep and when you tried to wake her, she didn't." Dr. Simpson asked, trying to get the story straight.   
  
"Yes." Mulder swallowed. He instinctively knew the next question the doctor was going to ask.   
  
"Has she had any history of severe illness in her family?" The doctor asked looking down at Scully's charts.   
  
"She had cancer." Mulder said and looked down at his hands folded in his lap. Suddenly, he felt two sets of eyes turn on him.   
  
"Cancer? What kind?" Dr. Simpson pushed.   
  
"I don't remember the name of it right now." Mulder shook his head, not thinking clearly. "It was behind her nasal cavity."   
  
"How severe?" The doctor was taking notes.  
  
"Umm...she was pretty bad off. I thought we were going to lose her. The tumor was pushing into her brain and..." Mulder trailed off, unable to finish, choking back tears.   
  
"What happened with it? Did she go into remission?"   
  
"Yes, miraculously." Mulder admitted, noticing the irony that only miracles happened when he referred to Scully.  
  
"Well, I'll have some test run to see if that's, indeed, what it is." Dr. Simpson stood. "I'll take you to her room now, if you'd like."  
  
They wordlessly followed him around another corner and down yet another hallway, back into the sterile white of the hospital.  
  
When they arrived at room 13:04, Dr. Simpson nodded and made his way down the hallway, leaving Mulder and Mollie at the room. Mulder looked over at Mollie and reached for the door handle.   
  
Opening it, he heard the steady beeping of machines measuring Scully's life. He thanked a God he didn't believe in that she was at least, for now, still alive.  
  
Biting his lip, he gestured for Mollie to go on in.   
  
"No, you go. I'll wait out here. You need time alone." She brushed a stray tear from her cheek and sniffled. Mulder nodded again and looked into the room where his Scully lay.   
  
He looked down at Mollie, who had sat down on the floor, once more before he entered the room and closed the door, leaving the world outside.   
  
Continued in Chapter 11 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11   
  
"This is not happening. This is not happening!" Mollie cried to herself.  
  
"I should never have told Scully about my dreams. I knew this was going to happen. I am so stupid. I can't believe I thought that she could help me. No one can! I'm just a freak. Everyone would just be better off without me. I'm worthless. I only cause pain!" Mollie berated herself and pounded her hand on her forehead.  
  
"All I do is hurt people. I shouldn't have allowed myself to feel safe with her. Stupid, STUPID, STUPID!"  
  
Mollie's cell phone let out a shrill ring. She grabbed at it as the nurse sitting in the nurses station turned to glare at her.  
  
"You can't have cell phones in here." She reprimanded.  
  
"Yea, I know." Mollie said, stabbing the end call button and checking the caller ID. Leila. Of course it was her. She was probably still upset at her for not going to lunch with her and John.  
  
Mollie gathered her belongings and walked down the hall to the exit. When she left the building, she dialed Leila's number.  
  
"Hello?" Leila's mom answered.  
  
"Hey Mrs. Hagan. May I please speak to Leila?"  
  
"Well hello there Mollie! How are ya doin'?"  
  
"I'm fine." Mollie lied, "I just need to speak to Leila."  
  
"Sure sweetie. Lemme get her for ya." Leila's mother said, her southern accent very apparent.  
  
Mollie heard the phone being set down and Mrs. Hagan yelling for Leila to pick up her phone.  
  
"Hello?" Leila said.  
  
"Hey, it's me. You called?" Mollie said after she heard Mrs. Hagan hang up her end of the line.  
  
"Yea. I was just calling to see how you were. You and that agent headed outta the memorial service pretty fast. Me and John were worried." Leila said quickly.  
  
"I'm fine." Mollie said watching a wailing ambulance make its way up to the emergency room entrance.  
  
"Mollie where are you?" Leila asked slowly.  
  
"I'm at the hospital." She replied, sighing into the phone.  
  
"Why? Is it your dad? Is he okay?" Leila asked, her voice dripping with worry.  
  
"Oh, ummm yea. He's fine. Well, he's not fine, but there's been no change."  
  
"Then why are you there? What are you not telling me?"  
  
Mollie could picture the worried and confused expression that Leila had to be wearing. She took a deep breath. This was going to really knock Leila's socks off.  
  
"Agent Scully is in a coma." She said, her voice cracking. She let the tears fall once again.  
  
St. Vincent's Hospital  
  
Room 1304  
  
9:45 p.m.  
  
The steady rhythmic beating of the machines soothed Mulder's nerves only slightly. At least they meant that she was still alive. For that he could be thankful.  
  
Standing by her bed, he looked down at her. She looked so small bundled in the blankets and oversized hospital gown. Wiping a tear from his cheek, he reached out and placed the gown back over her shoulder, where it had fallen off. Funny how he could forget how small she was when she was standing beside him in the battles they forged. Even funnier that it took something like this for him to truly realize how much he needed her. How much he depended on her to protect him and watch his back. Amazing that something so small could save him, body and soul.  
  
Slipping his rough hand into her still one, he fought the urge to break down. This was so confusing. She had been fine and now she was in a coma. He tried to think back over the last few days, trying to find a cause for her sudden ailment.  
  
He sat down in the uncomfortable, orange, vinyl chair. Brushing her hair back from her forehead, he laid his head down on their joined hands. Protected by her presence, he could not longer fight the urge to slip into the safe abyss of sleep.  
  
As he was drifting off to sleep, he heard a loud beep. Raising his head he noticed a large spike had been recorded on one of the machines. He instantly recognized it as the machine that registered her brain activity. So what did the spike represent?  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The mists brightened and Scully focused on a young redheaded girl, around the age of 6. The child was playing in a beautiful field of pink and yellow flowers.  
  
"Aunt Genevieve, come play." The little girl yelled.  
  
An old withered woman dressed all in black, walked out of a dilapidated cabin.  
  
"I cannot, Kiara. I'm busy." She said, her tone conveying that she didn't wish to be bothered.  
  
A jump in time, signified by a bright flash. An older girl, about 14, sat in the same field, fastening flowers together into the shape of a ring. She placed the crown of petals upon her head, her flaming red hair catching on the leaves.  
  
"Kiara! Come inside dear. It's time for lessons." A voice called.  
  
"Yes, Aunt. I'll be right there." Kiara stood and walked into the cabin.  
  
Aunt Genevieve stood at a table, her black cloak camouflaging her in shadows. Her pale face and white hair standing in stark contrast to the darkness.  
  
"It is time to learn the ways of our people, Kiara. Today you learn what it means to be Druid."  
  
Another flash.  
  
A 16 year old Kiara stood by a bed. Her Aunt lay in it, sweat trickling down her face.  
  
"Kiara, before I go, I must divulge something to you." Her aunt wheezed, breathing becoming harder for her.  
  
"Don't. Rest your breath, Aunt. All will be well." Kiara replied, her honeyed voice trying to soothe her aunt.  
  
"No!" Genevieve cried out. Her outburst brought horrible coughs and guffaws.  
  
"Aunt, what is it that has you troubled so?" Kiara's brows knitted together, she looked remarkably like Mollie.  
  
"Kiara," Genevieve paused, piecing her thoughts together. "The Pendragon was your father." She said, the coughs ceasing. "You must find your siblings and claim what is rightfully yours." With that, Genevieve drew her last breath.  
  
Scully took a deep breath and turned to Morgayne.  
  
"You and she are sisters." She said, coming to a realization.  
  
Morgayne nodded slightly.  
  
"In a way, yes. She is my half sibling."  
  
"This still doesn't explain why she's doing what she's doing to Mollie." Scully stated.  
  
"Keep watching." Morgayne replied and turned back to the mists, as did Scully.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The door opened and Dr. Simpson peered in.  
  
"Agent Mulder, you called for me?"  
  
"Yes, ummm, I want you to take a look at something for me." Mulder motioned the doctor over to his side. He was standing over the EEG machine holding the paper readout coming out of the front of the machine.  
  
"What is it?" Dr. Simpson asked, gesturing to the paper. "What have you got there?"  
  
"Well, I was sitting here with her and I heard a beep and when I looked up, I saw this." He handed the doctor the readout that showed three large spikes.  
  
"This is the machine that records brain waves, right?" Mulder asked, already knowing the answer.  
  
"Yes. But this is rather odd. I've never seen coma patients have this sort of pattern." As he said this another shrill beep erupted from the machine and another spike was recorded.  
  
"Hmm...very strange indeed." The doctor mumbled, more to himself than anyone else.  
  
Yes, it was very strange indeed, but not all together puzzling. As Mulder stood there, he started formulating a theory.  
  
"Doctor, what could cause this anomaly?"  
  
Turning towards Mulder he replied, "I really have no idea. I'm going to go order up those tests to see if her cancer has returned." The doctor turned to leave.  
  
"Don't bother, Doctor. I don't think you'll find anything."  
  
"What do you mean, Agent Mulder?"  
  
Mulder looked up at the doctor, a small smile forming on his lips. "I think she's dreaming."  
  
Continued in Chapter 12 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12   
  
The mists flashed again and the redhead appeared once more. She walked up to a large castle, stopping as she saw a servant approaching her.   
  
" 'Ello. What can I do for you?" The servant greeted.   
  
"I'm here to see the king." Kiara replied coolly.   
  
The servant looked at her for a moment, as if judging her seriousness, then laughed aloud.   
  
Irritated that the servant dared to laugh at her, Kiara grew angry.   
  
"If you do not let me see the king, I will cause a great catastrophe," Kiara threatened.   
  
"Oh really. And what can ya do then," The servant asked in mock fright.   
  
"Kill him," Kiara replied, narrowing her eyes.   
  
The servant took a step back from her. Kiara continued to stare at the woman, wracking her nerves and causing the servant to tremble. Her ice blue eyes sent the message that she was serious.   
  
"Let m...me just get him then," The servant stuttered and turned to flee.   
  
Kiara's lips curved upward in a small smile. She was pleased that her threat had been taken seriously. It was about time people realized that she wasn't just some child, but that she was powerful. More powerful than anyone on earth. She had been practicing the ways of the Druids for more than a year now, and even her Aunt, who was skilled in the arts of sorcery, had told her that she was stronger than many of the high sorcerer, including the high elders.   
  
Kiara looked down at her hands, and smoothed away an invisible wrinkle in her green dress. The dress was her favorite. It had originally been her mothers, a gift from the man they used to call king. It had been a gift from the Dragon himself, and one of the only nice things her mother had owned.   
  
A bright flash interrupted her reverie. She looked up and saw a figure standing inside a bright ball of light. Shielding her eyes from the glare she was able to make out the form of a woman. Her long curly hair billowed around her tiny velvet covered waist. The woman reached out a hand and grabbed Kiara's arm.   
  
"Come with me," She demanded, her green eyes flashing fire.   
  
She pulled Kiara to her and they disappeared into the bright flash, just as the servant reappeared, a young man decked out in lavish robes at her heels.   
  
The flash faded and the two women came to rest on a deserted shore, a lake spread out in front of them. Kiara looked around and struggled out of the other woman's grasp.   
  
"How dare you! Who are you to treat me in such a manner," She yelled and rubbed at her bruised bicep.   
  
"I am Morgayne, the kings sister. Who are YOU that you demand to see him and threaten to kill him," Morgayne spat.   
  
"You are his sister," Kiara asked, cocking her head to the side.   
  
"We have the same mother,"   
  
"I am his sister as well. We have the same father," Kiara said stepping towards Morgayne.   
  
"What are your intentions in seeing him," Morgayne asked.   
  
"I just wish to get what is rightly mine, seeing as how I am his sister," Kiara replied, raising her chin indignantly.  
  
"You wish for riches," Morgayne scoffed.   
  
"Yes. I have no money. I wish to get what I deserve,"  
  
"Who is your mother," Morgayne asked, changing the subject.   
  
"That is not your concern," Kiara yelled, appalled that Morgayne would ask such a question. It was not her concern who had mothered her.   
  
"Who. Is. Your. Mother," Morgayne repeated, emphasizing each word.   
  
"Her name was Kiana. She is no longer of this earth,"   
  
"She was a whore," Morgayne accused.  
  
"That does not matter. I am still rightly of royal blood and deserve to be treated as one,"   
  
"The only thing you deserve is to leave with nothing. You are a whore's daughter, you are nothing! You have nothing that is rightly yours. Just because the Dragon decided to have a brief moment of pleasure in your mothers bed, does not mean you deserve anything," Morgayne yelled.   
  
"How dare..."   
  
"How dare I what," Morgayne interrupted.  
  
"You will leave with nothing, do you understand? If every whores child decided to come and claim their right to the kingdom and its riches, we would be in ruins," Morgayne replied, turning to walk towards the waters.   
  
Kiara blinked back an angry tear.   
  
"I curse you," She cried out to Morgayne.   
  
Morgayne turned back to her and laughed.  
  
"Curse me," She scoffed. "Do you have any idea who I am?"   
  
"I don't care who you are. Do you have any idea who I am," Kiara narrowed her eyes, taken aback when the woman did not flinch. "If I shall not have anything then neither will you or your brother,"  
  
"What can you do to us that will ruin us," Morgayne asked, narrowing her eyes as well.   
  
Kiara smiled an evil smile and turned away, intent on finding her way out from wherever she was, and secure in knowing that the royal line would suffer.   
  
Scully looked up at Morgayne.  
  
"Keep watching. You will understand soon," Morgayne said, answering Scully's unasked question.  
  
"Dreaming?" Dr. Simpson asked, his unbelief apparent. "Coma patients are not known to dream, Agent Mulder."  
  
"I understand that doctor, but what if she isn't in an actual coma? What if she is just sleeping," He paused. "Heavily."  
  
"That's highly unlikely. She is in a coma. There is no way that she could just be sleeping."   
  
"Yes, but isn't it at all possible that it isn't a coma. You can't explain it. It came on so suddenly. Isn't it at all plausible that what she's experiencing is just a deep deep sleep, in an unconscious state?" Mulder theorized.   
  
The doctor huffed out a confused breath.   
  
"I guess if could be possible, but I don't know how or why. I've never seen anything remotely like this," He answered, running a hand through his thick gray hair.   
  
Mulder nodded and looked deep in thought.   
  
"What is it, son?" The doctor asked.   
  
"Its just, well, if she is sleeping, then there's got to be a way to wake her up," He replied and looked over at Scully, just as another large spike registered on the machine.   
  
St. Vincent's  
  
Room 313  
  
10:15 p.m.   
  
Mollie lowered herself into the chair and took her father's hand.   
  
"Hey Daddy," She whispered. "I'm sorry I haven't been here in a while. Things are really crazy right now. Today was Tommy's memorial service." She sniffled and brushed away a tear.   
  
"I wish you could have been there. Daddy, I needed you. I needed you so bad," She sobbed.   
  
"Please wake up. Daddy please! I need you to hug me, tell me everything is okay," She shook his hand.   
  
"There is so much going on that I need to tell you. I can't lose you. I need you." She lowered her head onto the bed for a second, letting the tear wash what little makeup she had on onto the white bedspread.   
  
Lifting her head, she continued. "There's some FBI agents here and they said they were going to help me get rid of my dreams. The woman agent, I really thought she could help, but now she's in a coma too, Daddy. I need you! Daddy! Please wake up," Mollie cried and shook her fathers hand again.   
  
God she needed him. Why wouldn't he wake up. She let out a giant sob and lowered her head down to the bed once more, staining the spread with tears.   
  
Sensing a presence in the room, she bolted upright. She turned her head to the door. There, in the doorway, stood a figure so recognizable that Mollie had to consciously refrain her body from shaking. In the doorway stood Kiara.   
  
Continued in Chapter 13 


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13  
  
"What the," Mollie gasped and sprung to her feet.   
  
Kiara's eyes bore into hers as Kiara turned to exit the doorway.   
  
"Wait," Mollie yelled and ran to the door.   
  
She ran out into the hallway, turning to face the way Kiara had walked. There was no one there.   
  
Grabbing the arm of a passing orderly, she asked, "Where did she go?"   
  
"Who?" The young man asked, looking at Mollie like she was crazy.   
  
"What do you mean, 'Who'? The woman, the redhead that just ran out of this room!"   
  
"Uh, Miss, you are the only person I've seen in this wing," he replied, eyeing her with a curious eye.   
  
Mollie stared at him. How could he have not seen her? She blinked and was perplexed as her eyes threatened to stay shut. When did she get so tired? She shook her head a little, trying to rid the sleep that had invaded her senses.   
  
"Miss, are you all right," the orderly asked, grabbing Mollie's arm.   
  
She swayed a bit in his grasp and let out a moan.   
  
"I'm okay, I think. I'm just so tired."   
  
She blinked again and crumbled to the floor, her legs giving out as she passed into unconsciousness.   
  
The orderly gasped and bent down to check her pulse.   
  
"Help! We need a doctor," he screamed. "Somebody please help!"   
  
Kiara peeked around the corner as the orderly ran to get help. Everything was playing out just as she wanted. Everything was coming together excellently. She smiled an evil smile and then turned. As she walked into the black vortex behind her, the alarms on the machines in Mollie's father's room began to scream.   
  
Scully watched the scene play out before her eyes.  
  
The men grunt as their swords collide, sending a shower of sparks to the ground. The older man's sword glows with an unearthly shine, as if a light comes from within the metal.   
  
The younger man grins as he knocks the sword from the older man's grasp. The old man falls to his knees, a look of acceptance of his death painted his worn features. The young man stalks forward towards the man. Without even batting an eye, he drives his sword through the mans chest, and walks away.   
  
The old man grabs his chest and falls to the ground.   
  
His eyes stay open and tears run down his cheeks. The spark in his eyes fades away, as his spirit abandons the earthly shell and his body goes limp.   
  
The old man dies. The kingdom falls. The sword returns from whence it came.   
  
Morgayne cries.   
  
Scully looked up at Morgayne.   
  
"Was that what I think it was," she asked, amazed at what she had seen. That was just a fairy tale wasn't it?   
  
"Yes. That was the death of my brother," Morgayne replied.   
  
"I can't believe it," Scully stated, shaking her head. "I thought that Morgayne wanted the kingdom to leave his hands."   
  
Morgayne glared at Scully.   
  
"I'm not as bad as the stories make me out to be. I wasn't perfect. No one is. Now keep watching."   
  
The mists brightened, but instantly went dark again as a shrill mechanical beep permeated the fog.   
  
Morgayne gasped and looked at Scully.   
  
"No," she screamed.   
  
"What is that," Scully cried, covering her ears from the incessant ringing.   
  
It almost sounded like a life support machines alarm, when the patient dies...   
  
"Dr. Simpson, we need your help, quickly," a nurse said as she threw open the door to Scully's room.  
  
Mulder and the doctor turned to look at her.   
  
"What is it Tory," he asked, already moving to the door.   
  
"We've got a coma patient in cardiac arrest and a young girl down," she said, holding the door open.   
  
"Wait, this young girl, who is she," Mulder asked rushing to follow the doctor and nurse. He had a bad feeling about this.   
  
"I don't know. An orderly found her. She had just come out of the man's room."  
  
"Oh my God. Mollie," Mulder breathed and ran after the nurses and doctor.   
  
The blackness swallowed Mollie and she shivered. It was so cold in here, wherever here was. She was alone, that's for sure.   
  
A small, dim, red light appeared in front of her and grew until it was the size of a person, brightening until Mollie had to squint her eyes to cut out the glare. Her eyes widened as Kiara walked out from the light.   
  
She took a step back, trying to get as far away from this woman as possible.   
  
"Don't be foolish, Mollie," Kiara scolded, as she grabbed Mollies arm. "I'm not going to hurt you. Or at least I don't want to."   
  
"How do I know that? You've killed everyone else I loved. Why not kill me," she yelled back, struggling against the surprisingly strong grip Kiara had on her arm.   
  
"Have I? How do you know?" Kiara frowned at her. "Now hurry up, we must find them."  
  
"Who?" Mollie asked, completely perplexed at this situation.   
  
"Morgayne and Danu`," she said.   
  
"Danu`? Don't you mean Dana," Mollie asked, resigning herself and following after Kiara.   
  
"Of course. Dana," Kiara nodded. "Now hurry. We must get to them before Morgayne turns this into something its not."   
  
The loud constant beep continued.   
  
Scully kept her ears covered and looked up at Morgayne.   
  
"What is that," she screamed again.   
  
Morgayne yelled something back at her which Scully was unable to hear.   
  
"What," she asked again, raising her voice above the beep.   
  
Morgayne turned her head, rolling her eyes, and disappeared, leaving Scully alone in the small boat. She widened her eyes and stood, rushing to the place where Morgayne had stood. The mists grew darker and Scully looked around, her eyes tearing up. For one of the first times in her life, she was truly and utterly afraid and alone. Having no idea how to get out of wherever she was, no way to get to Mulder, she let out a terrified scream.   
  
Mulder ran behind the doctors towards the wing where they had found the girl who he was sure would be Mollie. He sent up a silent prayer that when they arrived, it wouldn't be Mollie on the floor. However, he knew deep down in his gut that his request was futile.   
  
They rushed down the hall and he saw a crowd of nurse gathered around a body. As he drew nearer, his fears were realized. It was Mollie.   
  
An older blonde nurse stood up when she saw Dr. Simpson rush up.   
  
"What happened here, Sandie," He demanded.   
  
"She just went down, sir. I have no clue what's going on." She shook her head. "Her pulse is normal, and her BP is fine. We can't get her to wake up though. At first I thought she had just fainted, but she won't wake up."   
  
Mulder stepped up to her.   
  
"You won't be able to. She's in a coma. I'm sure that when you run tests, you'll find that I'm right," he said, looking at her and the doctor.   
  
Dr. Simpson and the nurse gaped at him.   
  
"What about him," Mulder continued, tilting his head towards Mollie's father's room.   
  
"Dr. Woods is in there with him now, working on him. His heart stopped beating. They're trying to get it started again," the nurse, Sandie, explained.   
  
The door to his room opened and three nurses and a young doctor stepped out. The young doctor stopped and looked up at Dr. Simpson and shook his head.   
  
"We lost him. Called it at 10:38," the young man told him, his eyes watering over a little. He sniffed and tried to quell his emotions, but Mulder could see through his attempt. This man was obviously a new doctor.   
  
"Its okay, Brent. You did everything you could," Dr. Simpson said, placing his hand on the mans shoulder.   
  
The man nodded and stepped around them to help the nurses place Mollie on the rolling bed.   
  
"One of our newest doctors. Straight out of med school. Damn good kid," Dr. Simpson explained, without looking back at Mulder.   
  
Mulder nodded and looked in the room at Mollies father. His body was covered with a pristine white sheet.   
  
"Alright. Let's get her to a room people," Dr. Simpson said. Raising his voice over the commotion.   
  
The doctors and nurses snapped to action and followed the doctor down the hall, pushing Mollie's bed as they went.   
  
Mulder stood in the doorway to Mollie's father's room, overcome by sadness. When Mollie woke up, she would be an orphan. No more family. He frowned and turned to follow the entourage of doctors and nurses.   
  
As he took a step towards the crowd, he gazed one last time into Mollie's fathers room, his eyes widening at what he saw.   
  
There, standing at Ewan O'Brien's bedside, was Morgayne.   
  
Continued in Chapter 14 


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14  
  
Mulder watched wide-eyed and frozen in place, as Morgayne raised her hands over the sheet clad body of Ewan O'Brien. Her eyes slipped shut and her hands swayed over the body. A fine sheen of mist floated around her and the bed.  
  
Suddenly the sheet seemed to glow, a bright yellow glare like a fire. Morgayne said something which Mulder couldn't understand. His brows furrowed as the room seemed to shake, the machines beeped and the body under the sheet heaved a huge breath.   
  
Morgayne opened her eyes and looked straight at Mulder. She curled her lips up into a small smile and turned the sheet down from the mans face. Ewan opened his eyes and looked up at her.   
  
"Morgayne,"he asked, perplexed to see this woman.   
  
"It is okay brother. All will be fine,"Morgayne said. She turned to Mulder once more, nodded her head, and disappeared into the mists that had floated into the room.  
  
Mulder, once again in control of his legs, ran into the room, as fast as he could. He needed to get into that mist! Maybe he could find out how to save Scully if only he could reach it. He jumped into the mist, but his movements only caused it to dissipate faster. He obviously was not allowed where Morgayne was going.   
  
Scully jumped as Morgayne appeared back in the boat once more.  
  
"What was that noise,"Scully asked, remembering the shrill beeping that had pervaded the mists just moments earlier. It had since died off, suddenly, like someone pulled a switch.  
  
"It was nothing. Just a matter I had to attend to,"Morgayne answered and turned once again to the mists. They seemed to sense her presence and brightened again.  
  
"I'm sick of this!"Scully yelled and stood up, floundering as the boat wobbled in the placid lake.   
  
Morgayne turned to her, blinking her eyes.  
  
"What aren't you telling me? Why are you keeping secrets? If you wish for my help so badly, you need to tell me the whole truth,"Scully said, advancing on Morgayne.  
  
"I need to tell you nothing. I didn't need to tell you all that I already have, but I did. You do not need to know anything. I only want your help, so I am being kind enough to give you information to go on. If you wish to stop, we will, but things will not turn out well for you, or the future," Morgayne replied with no emotion.  
  
Scully stared at her. After a few moments she gave up and sat back down.   
  
"Fine, show me more,"she huffed.  
  
"Very well, Dana,"Morgayne replied, and once again the mists took Scully to another place and time.   
  
The enemy swarms over the hills, advancing on their prey. The attackers, floating in on boats and rafts, the protectors holding fort and weapons, preparing to fight to the death for their land, their ruler.  
  
The enemy comes from across the channel, from the south. They have already won the east, and now are attacking the west.  
  
The enemies fight hard, the land beneath them soaking with blood. The land of Ire has now been lost.   
  
Kiara glares across the sea at Morgayne. Morgayne smiles and narrows her eyes. She has won this one. Kiara stalks away.   
  
March 14  
  
11:34 p.m.  
  
Mulder walked over to the man laying in the bed. What the hell had just happened? He had just been dead, right? Mulder was completely confused now.   
  
And why had Morgayne called him brother? He needed to find out the answers before the hospital staff found out that the recently deceased Ewan O'Brien was once again alive--and well... not in a coma.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Mulder ambled over to the bed. Ewan looked at him closely.   
  
"Who are you,"he asked, barely understandable through his thick Irish accent.   
  
Mulder looked at him curiously for a moment. Why did this man not know him? Oh that's right Mulder had never actually met Ewan before, he'd only been in a coma. He had just been a central character in all this, but Mulder had never properly been introduced.  
  
"I'm Agent Fox Mulder, with the FBI. My partner and I are down here investigating Mollie's dreams, and the affects they have on the deaths of the people around her,"Mulder explained carefully, unsure of Ewan's reaction.   
  
Ewan looked at him for a few silent moments, and then nodded.  
  
"Aye, okay,"he said and looked around the room. "Can ya tell me why I'm in a hospital room?"  
  
Mulder sat down in the seat next to Ewan's bed.  
  
"Yes sir. You've been in the hospital since yesterday. You were in a coma." Mulder watched Ewan's face for a reaction. When no discernible reaction came, Mulder commented, "You don't seem to think it's unusual that you were in a coma."  
  
"Aye, it isn't. They happen all the time to me. It isn't uncommon or frightening anymore,"Ewan sighed.  
  
Mulder furrowed his brow and leaned back into the vinyl chair, wincing as it squeaked a crude sound.   
  
So Mollie's father slipped into a coma very easily. This was getting stranger and stranger indeed. Now he just had to find out why Morgayne, and that's who he assumed it was from her description, had helped Ewan out of the coma. And why had she called him brother?  
  
Kiara pulled Mollie's hand and quickened her pace. She had to get to Morgayne before she won over Danu`. There was no way she would be able to win this battle if Morgayne once again was able to obtain Danu` s trust. Once Morgayne had achieved Danu`s help, Kiara would be powerless, and that was unacceptable in Kiara's mind. She had to win. She must!  
  
Her arm was pulled back as Mollie squeezed her hand. Kiara turned back to her.   
  
"I...must...rest..."Mollie said breathlessly.  
  
"You cannot! We do not have time. We must get to Morgayne quickly. Now hurry up. We have to keep going,"Kiara yelled and pulled Mollie more forcefully behind her.  
  
The younger woman inhaled sharply but did not cause any stir...for the moment.  
  
Once again the enemy swarms from the deep south. The new King has risen in the southern region, a new language, a new power.  
  
Kiara gleams as her army, although unknowingly directed by her, guides the vessels up the shores to the north. Morgayne will not have seen this coming. She couldn't have. Kiara will win this battle.  
  
The war rages on. Morgayne on the northern shores, Kiara on the southern.   
  
The armies fight, but Kiara is not worried. Her army, her power is too great. There is no way Morgayne will win!  
  
With a heavy cry, Morgayne's army surges towards Kiara's with a great force.   
  
Kiara screams as her army falls. The Spanish Empire is no more. Kiara lets out a giant yell and stalks off to the shadows. Morgayne is too strong. One day though, when Morgayne least expects, she will attack, and this time Morgayne will not succeed.  
  
Mulder ran his tongue across his lips and inhaled slightly. This interview was going nowhere fast. Obviously Ewan O'Brien, either had no idea what Mulder was talking about, or he was very good at faking it.  
  
"Listen, Mr. O'Brien..."Mulder trailed off as Ewan interrupted him.  
  
"How many time do I gotta tell ya to call me Ewan? For a FBI agent you sure don't catch on very quickly, now do you,"Ewan said trying to sit up.  
  
Mulder was quickly getting irritated. He ran his hand across his brow and looked down. Templing his fingers at his chin he began again.  
  
"Ewan...."He trailed off once more as Ewan let out a grunt. Looking up Mulder saw that Ewan was unsuccessfully trying to get the bed to raise so he could sit up.  
  
"Ya know, for all the stuff I've told you, you could at least help me sit this damn thing up."Ewan let out an irritated sigh.  
  
"What have you told me? Nothing."Mulder made no attempt to move. Ewan looked at him for a moment and then a huge grin erupted onto his face, transforming him to a more boyish look. Mischievous...that's the word.   
  
"Aye, you are a quick one aren't you Mr. Mulder?"Ewan laughed.   
  
Rolling his eyes ever so slightly, Mulder stood and helped Ewan adjust the bed so he could sit and be comfortable.  
  
"So what can you tell me,"Mulder asked once again when he and Ewan had each gotten comfortable in their respective seats.  
  
"What do you want to know?"  
  
"Why did Morgayne, wait that was Morgayne, correct,"Mulder asked.  
  
"Yes, her name is Morgayne."  
  
"Okay, well why did she call you brother. And why was she here in the first place? Who is she? Is she from the past? Is she real? Or just a figment of our imagination?"  
  
Ewan raised his hands signaling Mulder to stop.  
  
"Whoa. One question at a time."He sighed. "She called me brother, because I am. She was here to protect me, and I guess, since you told me I died, to bring me back. She is who she is. She exists in all times. She is as real as you and I and she is NOT a figment of our imaginations."  
  
"That doesn't make any sense. She is who she is? What kind of answer is that? Very vague if you ask me."  
  
"Well I didn't ask you now did I?"Ewan grinned once again and laughed.   
  
"Well you got me there,"Mulder relented.  
  
"That's all the answer I can give you. You are free to hypothesize if you like."  
  
"All right...I'll do that."Mulder grinned in response, as Ewan's grin widened.  
  
Continued in Chapter 15 


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15  
  
The new colonies are flourishing. Morgayne looks out over the seas at Kiara's distant face. A war was coming. One that she knew she would probably not win. Kiara had lost the 2 previous battles, this one that was coming, held all of her harbored anger at the very root.  
  
She had been whispering in the ears of the colonists about freedom, and liberty. They had mindlessly listened and became agitated with Morgayne's people. Morgayne had only tried to keep them in line.   
  
Now who knows what could happen.  
  
Scully looked up at Morgayne. "I don't believe this. You mean to tell me that you two, you and Kiara, were at the heart of every major battle and war in the history of the world?"   
  
"Yes. Well, most of them anyhow." Morgayne replied, lifting her left eyebrow a little.   
  
Scully shook her head in agitation and confusion, and continued to watch the scenes play out on the opaque mists before her eyes.   
  
The red-coated men walk in well-formed lines to the battlefield. Their weapons slung uniformly on their shoulders.  
  
In the trees to their left, the ones seeking liberty are waiting. Waiting for the right moment to attack. The yellow skins had taught them this new form of war. They were using it to the best of their advantage.  
  
The time to attack comes. The men rush out of the underbrush. The reds are surprised and unable to fire their weapons. They fall.  
  
The freedom fighters win. A cry of victory erupts from the west.  
  
Morgayne glances over to Kiara. She stands amidst her people, with a smug grin on her face.  
  
"You have won this war, Kiara. You will not win again." Morgayne threatens.   
  
"Perhaps." Kiara says and joins in on the celebration with her army.   
  
Ewan watched as Mulder stood up and left the room. This man was close to finding out the reasons behind why Kiara had haunted Mollie all these years. He would soon understand that not everything was as it seems.   
  
Ewan breathed a giant sigh as he let his mind wander back to his last meeting with his sister. It had been quite awhile since she had visited him in this realm. He usually had to wait to see her in dreams. The time must be drawing close. He only hoped that Mollie, and this Agent Scully, were ready for what they must face, for the battle being waged.   
  
He closed his eyes and silently lulled himself into a deep sleep. The mists receded and he was able to make out the shores of the lake. He stood in a clearing, the lake in front, and the forest behind. He watched as Morgayne showed Danu` the many battles that had been forged in the name of his family. His eyes slipped shut as he heard a faint rustling. Trying to locate where the sound was coming from, he turned to face the forest. In his minds eye, he was able to travel into the forest to the source of the rustling. There, about a mile into the thick underbrush was Kiara, pulling his darling Mollie behind her.   
  
Opening his eyes, he looked back out towards the lake. Morgayne better hurry. There wasn't much time left before Kiara and Mollie would be here, and the battle would commence.   
  
Mulder made his way towards the room that Scully, and now Mollie, occupied. He had begun to put a hypothesis together, now he just had to think.   
  
He gazed over at Scully peacefully resting in her bed. If his belief was accurate, her body posture belied what was really happening to her, and to Mollie.   
  
He wasn't going to lose her. He wasn't going to lose either of them. He would find a way to bring them back. If only he could figure out the code, the key to assist them.   
  
"Agent Mulder," a small voice behind him called out. He turned to see the young nurse, Tory, standing in the doorway.   
  
"What is it" he asked, standing up and moving towards her.   
  
She looked nervous as she gazed up and down the hallway. "Uh, I think you should probably come look at this," she stated and turned to walk down the hall, only gazing over her shoulder once to make sure he was following.   
  
Mulder followed her without comment.   
  
As they neared Ewan's room, he heard the ruckus of the hospital staff inside. The door opened and Dr. Simpson stepped out. Glancing at Mulder he shook his head and continued in the opposite way down the corridor. An entourage of nurses and doctors leaving the room behind him.   
  
Tory stopped as they left the room, then signaled for him to precede him into the room. Mulder did and turned as she shut the door behind her.   
  
She looked over at Ewan, who appeared to be sleeping again, then back at Mulder.   
  
"I think I might know what is happening," she stated as her eyes once again locked onto Ewan's still form.   
  
Mulder's eyebrows both shot up as far as they could go.   
  
"What do you think is happening," he asked, perplexed as to how this girl knew what was going on.   
  
Tory walked over to printout of his brain waves. Lifting up the paper, she glanced back at Mulder.   
  
"His brain waves, they look almost like what brain waves look like in deep sleep, or meditation," she explained.   
  
Mulder walked over to her and took the paper from her hands. The spikes on the paper did look more like a deep sleep form, but not entirely. There almost appeared to be sleep spindles in the mix of high and low spikes. He looked over at Ewan's eyes. They were still. No movement to suggest REM sleep. How curious. Everything that he had learned about dreaming suggested that most people dreamt only while in REM sleep, and occasionally in another stage, but usually not enough to show these pronounced spikes on the EEG.   
  
"What do you know about meditation," he asked turning back to Tory.   
  
"Not much. Only from what I've read. I'm very interested in it, and try to meditate everyday. It tends to calm myself and open up my mind," she explained. "From what I've heard, there are a few people that can actually meditate so deeply, that they almost appear to be in a coma. Since no one else can explain how or why these people have been slipping into comas so suddenly, it is my belief that perhaps, they are simply meditating. That perhaps their minds have gone so deeply into a deep like sleep, that they appear to be in a coma like state," Tory finished.   
  
Mulder looked at this girl and then back at Ewan. If this were simply a form of meditation, or deep sleep, then perhaps anyone could go where Scully, Mollie and now, it appeared, Ewan had gone. Maybe he had found the key to get Scully back.   
  
"You said that you practice meditation. Do you think you could teach me," Mulder asked. He smiled at Tory's affirmative nod.   
  
The small nurses lounge looked even smaller with only the dim light from the candle in the middle of the room. Mulder had convinced the hospital staff to leave him and Tory alone in the room for at least an hour. He had gotten some suspicious looks from some of the staff, especially after he asked for a few candles, but he didn't bother telling them the reason. He just flashed his FBI badge at them and they nodded their consent. They would probably think he was even crazier if he told them the actual reason for the use of the room.   
  
The candle shone brightly in Mulder's eyes. He looked over at Tory as she finished her preparations and sat down on the opposite side of the candle. She looked up at him and nodded that it was time to start the lesson.   
  
"Close your eyes," she said and closed her eyes. Mulder followed her lead and slipped his eyes shut. "Now concentrate on steadying your breathing. Breathe slowly in and out. Keep at it until you feel completely relaxed."   
  
The only noise in the room was their combined breathing. The soft intake and exhale mingling with the scent of the candle wax, lulling Mulder into a deep feeling of relaxation.   
  
"Concentrate on what you wish to see," he heard Tory's voice say, but couldn't place where her location was. Slowly he formed up a picture of Scully in his mind. Her beautiful red hair and deep blue eyes were the first thing he saw. She smiled at him and he watched in amazement as her hair grew longer and longer, until it fell gently around her waist. Slowly her whole body came into focus and he saw the dark purple velvet dress that snugly fit her form. He gasped in surprise as she lifted her hand towards him and called his name...without opening her mouth.   
  
"Mulder," he heard in his head. Her voice was the wind, gently flowing in and out of his mind.   
  
"Mulder." This time harsher, more urgent.   
  
"Agent Mulder!" Agent? She never called him agent.   
  
He felt his body being shaken and widened his eyes as the vision of Scully faded.   
  
His eyes darted open and he saw Tory squatting in front of him shaking him.   
  
"You were really gone there for a while. Where were you?" She smiled and stood up, offering her hand to him to assist him up.   
  
"Do you think this helped? Do you think you'll be able to find out what is going on," she asked as they moved to the door.   
  
Opening the door, he turned back to her and smiled.   
  
"Yes, Tory. I think I will be able to."   
  
Still smiling he made his way towards Scully's room once more. Hopefully, being close to Scully would help him to see more clearly what was going on. He had a definite feeling this was the key to all the mystery.   
  
Continued in Chapter 16 


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16  
  
Mulder opened the door to Scully's room and quietly shut it behind him. He took a deep breath and made his way over to the chair by her bed. Taking her hand in his, he breathed in deeply. His eyes slipped shut and he thought to himself, "This better work."  
  
Letting her hand go, he leaned back in his chair. His eyes slipped shut and he concentrated on his breathing. He reached out in his mind to Scully, praying a prayer that his theory would work. Using the breathing and relaxation techniques that the young nurse Tory had taught him, he was able to slow his breathing. Concentrating on Scully's image, he felt himself fall into a deep oblivion.   
  
The fighting seemed to intensify as the forces from the West dominated the others. They had not wanted to join in on the war, but been forced into it by the evil deed done to them.  
  
The trenches ran red with blood as the war raged on. The pops from the guns and booms from the bombs rang in the soldiers ears.   
  
An angry and pitiful scream erupted from the earth as Morgayne won the war.   
  
A gentle tear ran down Scully's cheek as she witnessed the horrors of the First World War. The reason the world had come to believe was true had just been proven wrong. All the wars fought in the history of mankind had been the evil mind games between Morgayne and Kiara. All the lives lost, just for the brainless indemnities between the two.   
  
Scully shook her head in disgust and turned around to speak to Morgayne, but a figure on the lakes shore caught her gaze and her breath caught in her throat.   
  
Ewan watched from his place on the shore as Kiara and Mollie burst from the woods and out onto the sand. Mollie had all but given up the fight of pulling away from Kiara. Her dissident attitude was all but gone. Resignation shone on her face.   
  
She glanced up from her linked hand with Kiara's and looked straight at Ewan. An energized yell flew from her mouth and she once again tried to free herself from Kiara. This time, however, Kiara let go and Mollie ran to her father.   
  
"Daddy," she screamed and threw herself into his arms, hugging him close and breathing in the warm scent of him.   
  
"Hey pumpkin," he replied and ran his hand over the back of her head as he returned the hug full force.   
  
"What are you doing here daddy," she asked as she pulled back from him and brushed a tear from her cheek. She was so happy to see him.   
  
"I'm here for the battle," he said and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand.   
  
"Battle," Mollie asked and took a step back. "What are you talking about? What battle?" She turned from him and looked at Kiara, and then back at her father.   
  
"Shhh...its ok pumpkin. Its your destiny. Now you must do what you feel is right. And I will support you with either side you choose," he said, trying to soothe her fears.  
  
"Sides? What are you talking about dad? I don't understand," she said wrinkling her forehead.   
  
"You will," Kiara interrupted. "Now come. We must start this now, before Morgayne fully wins Danu`s trust and support."   
  
Kiara grabbed Mollies wrist and pulled her to a small boat that had appeared at the edge of the lake. Pushing Mollie into the boat, Kiara looked back at Ewan.   
  
"I'm sorry this has had to happen," she yelled back at him.   
  
"Just try and fix it," he yelled back.   
  
Kiara pushed the boat into the water and, hitching her dress up, waded out into the water and pulled herself into the boat.   
  
Mollie looked up at her and Kiara frowned. Mollie looked so scared. Hopefully she would not have anything to be afraid of.   
  
Scully looked back from the image of Ewan on the beach and turned towards the figures on the mists. Her eyes closed as the image of Hiroshima glimmered onto the mist screen before her eyes. She heaved a great sigh and turned towards Morgayne.   
  
"All right, tell me how I play into this," she demanded and opened her eyes and glared at Morgayne.   
  
"I need you. You are not just Dana Scully, you are Danu`," Morgayne said and sat down on the bench across from Scully.   
  
"Danu`? Who is Danu`? Are you saying I'm some kind of reincarnated spirit," Scully scoffed.   
  
"Not technically. You are imbued with the powers of the great god Danu`, the god of my early people."   
  
"Right. Ok." Scully chewed on her bottom lip. "And that has to do with what, exactly?"   
  
"Only you will be able to help me beat Kiara once and for all. She cannot win over Mollie. If she does, a war greater than any fought will come to pass. No one will survive," Morgayne replied solemnly.   
  
"So it's like the Apocalypse," Scully asked.   
  
"No. The apocalypse is something that will definitely happen. This is not. Only if Kiara wins over Mollie, will this happen. It is not supposed to. I need your help in persuading Mollie to not trust Kiara. If she does, there is nothing I can do."   
  
"So, if I don't help you..." Scully trailed off and raised her hands finishing her question.   
  
"No one will live. It's as simple as that."   
  
Scully opened her mouth to say something but was cut off as a yell from behind her reverberated off the mists.   
  
She turned around and saw Kiara and Mollie floating towards them.   
  
"Now the battle begins," Morgayne said and stood to greet the newcomers.   
  
Continued in Chapter 17 


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17  
  
The boat carrying Kiara and Mollie floated to a stop next to Scully's. Scully glanced over at Mollie and suppressed a shudder. Mollie looked terrified. Her eyes were large and shimmering with unshed tears.   
  
Mollie looked over at Scully and resisted the urge to cry. What had she ever done to get herself in this situation?   
  
"Stand up, Mollie," Kiara demanded, never taking her eyes off of Morgayne.   
  
Mollie looked back at Kiara and then back at Scully.   
  
"Stand UP, Mollie." Kiara repeated more forcefully.   
  
Mollie shuddered and stood up, stumbling as the boat stirred in the placid water.   
  
"Hello, Mollie." Morgayne smiled at the young girl.   
  
"Don't you dare act like that," Kiara yelled.   
  
Morgayne turned her gaze to Kiara, fire blazed in her eyes.   
  
"Act like what," she growled.   
  
"Like you are the good one in this. If you hadn't started this, this never would have happened. Now it's come to the final battle," Kiara yelled and turned towards Mollie. "You must choose a side, Mollie. Will you stand with me, or will you stand with Morgayne?" Kiara's voice was so soothing, the Irish lilt calming Mollie's nerves. Mollie turned towards Kiara as her eyes glazed over.  
  
"Mollie," Morgayne cried, bringing the girl out of her daze. "You must not listen to her, Mollie. She is a liar," she said once Mollie turned towards her.  
  
Scully watched the encounter with fascination. It intrigued her that Kiara's voice seemed to have an alluring effect on Mollie.   
  
Mollie looked from Kiara to Morgayne, and back again.   
  
"I don't know what you are asking of me. What do you mean choose sides? For what," she cried confusedly.   
  
Kiara opened her mouth to explain, but Morgayne interrupted.   
  
Mulder breathed in deeply and opened his eyes when he realized he didn't smell the horrible hospital smell anymore. A bright light blinded him and he shut his eyes against the glare. Opening them once more, he saw the faint outlines of a tree. It took a moment for him to realize that he was no longer in the hospital room, but was lying on the damp ground in a lush forest. Huffing a deep breath, he sat up and surveyed his surroundings.   
  
A small bird chirped on one of the lower branches. Mulder turned towards it and watched as it skittered away and took flight.   
  
The forest was beautiful. The green trees swayed in the gentle breeze.   
  
Mulder reached up to wipe the dew off his face. He looked down at his arm and realized his shirt was different from his normal everyday suit. It was a deep plum shirt, that tied up the front, reminding him of something he had seen at a Renaissance festival a few weeks ago. His pants were black and fitted to his legs. Silently, he sent up a prayer thanking God that the shirt was long and fell to mid-thigh. He didn't want everyone and their dog to see his package. Not that he was embarrassed, mind you.   
  
Standing up he brushed back his hair which, surprisingly, had also become longer in length.   
  
He turned around in a full circle, wondering which way should he go. Scully...he needed to find Scully.   
  
"You must choose a side. I cannot tell you why, for you must do so without knowledge of events to come. All I can tell you is that Kiara will lie to you. She is not someone you can trust. Trust in me, Mollie. Join with me. Danu` already has." Morgayne smiled and held out her hands beckoning Mollie to her. "Will you join us?"   
  
Mollie turned to Kiara.   
  
"I don't know what's going on, but my whole life you have been there, always taking the people I loved. Why? Why would you do that? What did I ever do to you to deserve that," Mollie cried, her body shaking as she kept her tears inside.   
  
"You are right. I did take the ones you loved, but I did it for good reason. If I had not, Morgayne would have used them in her fight against me. They were not easily swayed. I kept them safe. I took them from the horrors that Morgayne would have inflicted upon them," Kiara explained, keeping her voice even and soothing. She would not lose this soul to Morgayne. Mollie's face relaxed and she nodded at Kiara in understanding.   
  
"That's a lie," Morgayne cried out. "You did not protect them. Mollie, she did not protect them. She killed them!"   
  
"I did not kill them. I took them, yes, but I would never kill them. It is not in my nature to kill for pleasure, unlike you, who would smite any who crosses your path," Kiara yelled, relaxing her power over Mollie.   
  
Mollie blinked and shook her head. She was unsure, but she believed that Kiara was hypnotizing her in order to make Mollie believe her.   
  
"Lies," Morgayne cried again.  
  
Mollie looked over at Morgayne and then at Scully. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to Kiara.  
  
"You are a liar. You never protected me. You just took everyone I've ever loved. You killed them! The only one that has ever protected me or my family, was Morgayne. She is the only reason my father is still alive. Otherwise, you would have taken him as well," she yelled and took a step away from Kiara and towards Morgayne.   
  
"No. I would never hurt your father. He was kind to me once. It is only because of Morgayne that he rebukes me. Mollie please, I need you with me on this. Without you, I will be unable to stop her this time," Kiara said, a tear running down her cheek.   
  
Mollie shook her head and brushed the tears from her eyes.   
  
"LIES!" Morgayne yelled once more. She reached out a hand towards Mollie. "Take my hand. Join with us. Let us rid the world of her."   
  
Mollie kept her eyes on Kiara, but lifted her hand and placed it in Morgayne's. Morgayne smiled in satisfaction and pulled Mollie into her boat.   
  
Scully stood and engulfed Mollie in a hug. All the while Mollies eyes never left Kiara's.  
  
Tears streamed down Kiara's face, and Mollie's eyes widened as suddenly Kiara's distinguishing ice blue eyes turned a deep green, the exact shade of her own. It was like looking into her own soul. Suddenly she had the distinct feeling, she had chosen very wrong.   
  
A loud scream erupted from Kiara as she fell to her knees. "NO! MOLLIE!" She yelled, startling Scully and only making Mollie cry harder.  
  
Continued in chapter 18 


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18  
  
Mulder turned around from the direction he was headed when he heard an agonizing scream from behind him.  
  
"NO! MOLLIE!" Came the distant voice.  
  
Hearing Mollie's name, he broke out into a swift sprint, following the sound of the scream. It sounded torturous, and threatened to bring tears to his eyes, almost like someone was in deep pain. He hoped to God that person wasn't Mollie, or worse, Scully.   
  
Keeping his pace up, he ran until he stumbled as the solid ground turned into soft sand beneath his feet. He fell, catching himself with his hands.  
  
Standing up and brushing off his pants, he surveyed his surroundings. He was standing on a deserted beach, a large lake spanning the distance in front of him. Looking out, he could only see a few meters out before a thick wall of mist or smoke, he wasn't sure which, rose as far as he could see into the sky.   
  
Running to the waters edge, he heard another heartbreaking scream. Frantically, he searched for a boat or raft of some kind so that he could get past the mist clouds to see who was screaming.   
  
"You don't want to disturb them." Came a voice laden with a thick Irish accent from behind him.  
  
He froze. He knew that voice.  
  
Slowly, he turned around to see the face of Ewan O'Brien.   
  
"What do you mean disturb them? Disturb who?" Mulder asked, although he had a pretty good idea who it was.  
  
"All of them. Even your partner. They are all in negotiations at the moment. It would be unwise to disrupt them right now. Who knows what Morgayne will do if she realizes you are here." He replied, a twinkle in his eyes.  
  
"I have to get to Scully." Mulder said. "Why aren't you worried? They have your daughter! Are you that heartless?" Ewan just smiled.  
  
Realization dawned suddenly on Mulder.  
  
"Oh, I get it now. You are in on this. You are letting them do this to Mollie, letting them torture her. Letting them kill your wife, her boyfriend! What kind of sadistic bastard are you?" He yelled.  
  
"Don't go making rash assumptions on me, Mr. Mulder! You have no idea what is going on, so don't pretend. Your petulance really is quite tiresome." Ewan said, narrowing his eyes.  
  
"Fine. Why don't you enlighten me? Why are you allowing this to happen to Mollie?" Mulder growled.  
  
"A very long time ago, there was a king, who had a sister. That sister was very powerful, and many believed her to be evil. One day, a new woman arrived, claiming to be the illegitimate daughter of the king's father."  
  
"Wait, wouldn't that be the sister's father as well?" Mulder interrupted.  
  
"No. The sister and king had the same mother, but different fathers." Ewan paused. "The woman asked for riches and acceptance. The sister denied her. Feeling betrayed and alone, the woman cursed the lineage of the sister and brother, who would come to have a son together."  
  
"You're talking King Arthur." Mulder pondered. At Ewan's affirmative nod, Mulder pressed on. "The tale is that the sister, Morgayne, was evil. I've never heard anything about a third sibling, who I'm guessing would be Kiara."   
  
"You catch on quickly. No, the tale has warped things, quite a bit. Morgayne was not evil, she was misunderstood."  
  
"So where do you and Mollie fit in. And why do they want Scully?" Mulder questioned.  
  
"I am Arthur, in a manner of speaking." Ewan smiled a smile that Mulder suddenly found very regal.   
  
"That's why she called you brother." Mulder whispered. "You're the reincarnated spirit of King Arthur?"  
  
"In a sense. Not technically reincarnated, but I don't feel like getting into the semantics of it all." Ewan nodded.  
  
"So what about Mollie, what about Scully?" Mulder pressed.  
  
"Mollie is in the direct lineage of both Morgayne and I, and Kiara. Her mother, was a child of Kiara, her roots traced all the way back to Kiara. I am in the direct line of Arthur. Mollie is the catalyst. She was never supposed to be, but she is. Kiara cursed the future children and lineage of Morgayne and I, but she never meant to curse her own."   
  
"Scully?" Mulder urged.  
  
"She…well let's just say that Dana isn't exactly fully Dana."  
  
Mulder squinted his eyes in deep concentration.  
  
"What does that mean, not fully Dana?"   
  
"Mr. Mulder, it doesn't matter. I have told you what you needed to know. Now, do not disturb them." Ewan turned and walked towards the forest.  
  
"Wait…what happens to Mollie?"  
  
Turning around, Ewan raised an eyebrow. "She gets to choose a side. If not, well let's just say that the future will not be as bright."  
  
Mulder shook his head and looked back towards the mist. Turning back to Ewan, his eyes widened as he saw that Ewan was gone. Taking a deep breath Mulder turned back to the water, spying a small boat wading in the shallow waters.   
  
He had to get to Scully!  
  
Tears streamed down Mollie's face as she stared into the eyes of Kiara, her eyes! They were her eyes! The same deep green and everything!  
  
Unable to stand the pain she saw reflecting in their depths, she squeezed her own eyes shut. Hearing a loud laugh, she opened them and turned towards Morgayne.   
  
Morgayne stared at Kiara, then turned to Mollie, who was still holding onto Scully.   
  
"Don't worry anymore Mollie. It's all ending today. No more pain, I promise." Morgayne smiled and spoke in a quiet whisper. Suddenly she turned to Kiara. She reached inside her coat and pulled something out. Mollie gasped at the object and pushed farther back into Scully's embrace.  
  
Scully's eyes widened as she saw Morgayne pull the shimmering sword out from behind her cloak. She instantly recognized it as the one that the king had carried. Coming out of her reverie, she heard Morgayne speaking.  
  
"It is over for now." She said to Kiara, and thrust the sword into Kiara's stomach.   
  
A weak gasp seeped from Kiara's lips as she doubled over in pain. Looking up at Mollie one more time, a single tear slipped down her cheek.  
  
"Goodbye….my child." She breathed.   
  
Mollie just cried harder into Scully's arms.   
  
Kiara looked back at Morgayne, as a bright silver light erupted from her eye sockets and open mouth. As she took her last breath, she exploded in a bright white light.   
  
Scully closed her eyes and turned her head from the intense brightness. Once it faded, she looked back only to realize, everything had turned black and she was once again hopelessly alone.  
  
Continued in Chapter 19 


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19  
  
March 15  
  
9:35 am  
  
St. Vincent's Hospital  
  
Scully closed her eyes as a brief intensity of bright light flashed before her eyes. Gathering her courage, she opened them again and turned her head.   
  
She was lying in a hospital bed, the machines monitoring her beeping all around her head. She turned her head towards the side and saw Mulder sitting there, his eyes opening up and lighting up when he saw her.   
  
"Hey! You're finally awake." He grinned and leaned over, kissing her cheek.   
  
"Yeah. What happened Mulder," she asked, having trouble remembering what had gone on.   
  
"You hit your head and you were unconscious. The doctors say it isn't that bad, but that you'll be dizzy and nauseous for a few days, and that he'd like for you to stay in bed." He grinned. "You'll do anything to get out of teaching that class in Brunswick, won't you," he teased.   
  
"Class in Brunswick," she asked, shaking her head in confusion.   
  
"Oh, the doctor said you might not remember little details. We came down here to teach a class on X-Files at the Law Enforcement Academy in Brunswick, Georgia. We decided to stay here in Jacksonville, because it's the closest FBI headquarters to Brunswick. You don't remember," he asked.   
  
"No, I don't. Mulder, how's Mollie," Scully asked, turning her head to look at Mollie, then back at Mulder.   
  
"Who," Mulder asked and looked at her strangely.   
  
"Mollie, the girl right next to me," Scully said looking back at Mollie, wondering how she knew her, she couldn't remember anything anymore.   
  
"Scully, uh, we've never met that girl," Mulder said slowly, eyeing her.   
  
Scully looked back at him, and shook her head. There was something she needed to remember, but she couldn't for the life of her. It was like she was in a fog, a mist.   
  
"That concussion really made you a little loopy didn't it," Mulder grinned.   
  
"Yeah, I guess so," Scully replied, watching the young redhead at her side embracing the boy.   
  
Mollie looked around. Everything had gone completely black, and she should be nervous, but strangely she felt, elated, at peace.   
  
She blinked her eyes and her pupils retracted as a bright light formed before her eyes and a faint beeping sound permeated the darkness. Closing her eyes once more, she opened them and found herself staring at a ceiling. She turned her head to the right and saw Scully lying in her hospital bed, her eyes fluttering open, as was Agent Mulder's, who was sitting by Scully's bed.  
  
She was back in the hospital! She remembered. Kiara was dead! She wouldn't be bothered with her anymore.   
  
Mollie watched as Scully and Mulder talked, and Scully looked over at her and then back to Mulder, a puzzled look on her face.   
  
"Hey," a soft gentle voice said from her side. Her eyes widened at the voice and she turned towards him.   
  
Tommy sat there, eyes wide and a huge smile on his face.   
  
"That was a nasty bout of the flu you had there. You had me worried," he said, and touched her cheek.   
  
Tears sprung to her eyes. How was he alive? The only explanation she could come up with was that, now that Kiara was dead, everything she had done had been reversed. She didn't care though; all she wanted to do was bask in the beauty of her Tommy.   
  
"Hey...don't cry sweetie. It's okay. I missed you, but the doctor says you are getting better." He bent over to brush his lips to her forehead.   
  
"I love you." Mollie's voice broke as did the dam that was holding the tears back.   
  
"Aww, I love you too, baby."   
  
Tommy sat down on the bed next to Mollie and gathered her up into his arms, holding her as she cried.   
  
"My dad! Where's my dad," Mollie suddenly spoke up, questioning Tommy.   
  
"He's down the hall, with your mom. The doctors are trying to find out why he's missing some memories. Apparently he thought I was dead, and that your mom had been missing for 10 years." Tommy smiled.   
  
"My mom," Mollie asked, her eyes tearing up again. "My mom's with my dad?"   
  
"Yeah. Do you want me to go get her for you?"   
  
Mollie's mouth gaped open.   
  
"Mollie? Are you okay," Tommy asked a little nervously.   
  
A smile lit up her features and her green eyes sparkled with the intensity of the moment.   
  
"Yeah. I'm great. Never better!" She laughed and leaned back into the bed.   
  
Everything was back to normal. Everything was going to be okay now. Everything was over. She'd never have to worry again.   
  
March 17, One year later  
  
St. Patrick's Hospital  
  
Dublin Ireland  
  
"PUSH," the young dark-haired doctor yelled out, and Katie pushed with all her might.   
  
"Alright, I can see the head, Katie, keep going, you're doing great," Katie's husband Andrew encouraged her.   
  
With a final push, Katie felt her child slip out of her.   
  
"It's a girl, and a beautiful one at that," the doctor cried out, wiping the baby off and placing her on Katie's stomach.   
  
"Oh, she's absolutely beautiful," Katie cried, as she ran a finger over the girl's short red hair.   
  
The doctor smiled and lifted the child from the mother and took her over to the nurses, who weighed her and cleaned her up, wrapping her in a blanket.   
  
"Andrew, I'm so happy," Katie sniffled.   
  
"I am too, Katie-dear," Andrew replied kissing her lips.   
  
The older nurse brought the baby to them and placed her in Katie's arms.   
  
"She's gorgeous. Have you thought of a name for her," the nurse asked, smiling.   
  
Katie looked at the baby, then at Andrew.   
  
"Kiara, we love the name Kiara," she replied and looked back down at her baby girl, running the back of her hand over her downy soft cheek.   
  
Katie watched as her little Kiara yawned and blinked, and for just a moment, her eyes appeared a dark green, then turned ice blue, as they misted over...   
  
THE END! AUTHORS NOTES: I just want to thank everyone who's put up with me this past year in writing this. Special thanks to Donna for being a good sport and being the BEST BETA EVER! You rock girl.   
  
Also, thanks to all the readers that have stuck by me, and supported me during the hard times I've gone through. Even with all the pokes you gave me, it still took a while. Thanks for sticking with it!  
  
~Mana~ 


End file.
